Mahi Shekam Por (Persian Stuffed Fish)

A serving of persian baked fish on a plate with rice and a salad. A part of the fish has been cut open showing the stuffing inside.

5 from 2 votes

Mahi Shekam Por (Persian Stuffed Fish)

This perfectly roasted whole fish is inspired by an Iranian dish eaten during Persian New Year called Mahi Shekam Por. An impressive dinner that is ready to eat in an hour, sea bream is stuffed with an aromatic herb, walnut, olive, and pomegranate molasses mixture. The resulting fish is flakey and tender, with a perfect balance of flavors sweet, savory, and tangy, and herbaceous flavor.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Persian

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings:

Author: Mersedeh Prewer

Ingredients

1 pinch saffron threads, or 1/8 teaspoon ground saffron
4 whole sea bream or branzino, de-scaled and gutted, with its heads and tails attached
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1/4 cup walnuts (untoasted)
4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, plus chopped parsley for garnish
10 fresh mint leaves
2/3 cup (4 ounces) large pitted green olives
2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Bloom the saffron. Grind the saffron threads in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until they become a fine powder. Stir in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside to bloom while you prepare the other ingredients.
Get ready. Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Prepare the fish. Position the fish on a sturdy cutting board with its belly facing you. Take your knife and slice at a diagonal from near the top of its neck to its belly, cutting deep enough to touch the bone. Do this once more, closer to the middle part of the fish. Flip and repeat on the other side. Season with salt and pepper on both sides and place the fish on the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining fish, setting the prepared fish aside until you are ready to stuff them.
Grind the walnuts. Add walnuts to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until they’re finely ground.
Add the aromatics. To the food processor with the walnuts, add the garlic, cilantro, parsley, and mint. Pulse until the herbs and garlic are coarsely chopped.
Make a paste. Add the olives, pomegranate molasses and 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Blitz until it forms a coarse paste.
Stuff the fish. Divide the stuffing amongst the fish, opening the cavity and pushing the flavorful walnut mixture inside.
Tie the fish. Using butcher’s twine, make a knot at the top end of the fish just under the head. This is the anchor. Then make a series of loops to cover the fish by pulling the twine out away from your anchor and creating a large, loose loop under the fish. Repeat to the length of the fish, around 4 times, then tie off and cut the twine.
Make the saffron glaze. Whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the bowl with the bloomed saffron. Brush the fish on both sides with the saffron oil.
Bake the fish. Place the baking tray in the middle of the oven and roast until the skin is crispy, 30 to 40 mins.
Garnish and serve. Remove the fish from the oven. Remove and discard the butcher’s twine and gently transfer to your serving dish. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds and serve.

Notes

If sea bream is not available in your area, you can use branzino, red snapper, cod, sea bass, flounder, halibut, or any other mild, flaky white fish. The stuffing mix also works very well with salmon. If you’re working with a larger fish, double the stuffing mixture to ensure you have enough.
To reduce your prep time, ask your fishmonger to scale the fish and clean out the cavity. Make sure the cavity is from the head down to the tail so you can stuff the fish easily.
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Nutrition

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