This past week was wonderfully busy and full of exciting ups and downs. Well, maybe "downs" isn't the right word, but the self-publishing world is definitely a challenge worth the undertaking. Despite some setbacks and an epic learning curve, I'm proud to say that my book, The Camel in the Forest, is available for pre-order in ebook format, to be followed by a paperback edition in a few weeks.
What is a pre-order and why is it important? I wrote a little post about it here. Find out why this step in the publishing journey is particularly helpful to indie authors and small publishing imprints.
But no matter the week, regardless of the ups and downs or excitement of big accomplishments, Shabbat arrives faithfully every Friday evening and is reliably followed by 25 hours of peaceful disconnecting with my family. Whether you keep Shabbat or not, I highly recommend that you lean into Shabbat as a day of rest and an opportunity to recharge your body and soul (bonus if you can find one of the many Shabbat mitzvot to connect to and incorporate into your routine, your neshama will thank you :)).
So, how to prepare for 25 hours of Shabbat if you've had a busy week? My non-negotiable is to have all my Shabbat food cooked and prepared on Friday so I can focus on spending time with family. On a busy week, that often means a simpler (but just as delicious) menu. Usually, I try to prepare some of the salads or cooked dishes on Thursday evening, but this past Friday I made all the food for Shabbat on Friday morning, and the menu looked like this:
Erev Shabbat (Friday) Dinner:
Salmon in chraime sauce
Mixed green salad
Chopped beet salad
Homemade Challah bread
Shabbat Lunch:
Chicken and mixed veggie stir fry
Cilantro rice
Mixed green salad
Chopped beet salad
Homemade Challah bread
No matter how simple your Shabbat menu is, baking fresh homemade challah elevates each Shabbat meal to a king's feast. I've also been using a helpful time-saving challah hack recently, which has been such a game-changer (more on that later).
If you saw my reel on Instagram then you already know which recipe I shared. This week, I want to share my recipe for chraime sauce for fish (sometimes called Moroccan fish). Chraime is a traditional North African tomato-based sauce in which fillets of white fish are slow-cooked. There are many variations of chraime, and many purists out there will tell you that theirs is the "correct" version of chraime. I am very laissez-faire about cooking; I think cooking is simply a fun means to a delicious end. I'm not exact about measurements, and I'm not a purist about ingredients, so take all my recipes with a grain of salt. This recipe is a simple, delicious way to make a delicious Shabbat fish to serve your family on Erev Shabbat.
Chraime Sauce for Fish
Serves 4-6
Chraime is a spicy and aromatic North African Jewish dish featuring fish simmered in a rich tomato sauce flavored with garlic, paprika, cumin, and other spices.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of olive oil (more as needed)
2 teaspoons of smoked or sweet paprika
1-2 teaspoon of ground coriander, ideally freshly ground to retain its bright flavor
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt (more to taste)
1 head of garlic, about 10 cloves whole or halved
1 can of rinsed garbanzo/hummus/chickpea beans (optional but recommended)
2-4 whole spicy peppers (jalapeno, anaheim...)
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 can of finely diced tomatoes or plain tomato sauce
1/2 cup of water
4-6 fillets of skinless fillet of the fish of your choice (tilapia, salmon, cod, sea bass...)
1 bunch of cilantro (thoroughly washed and dried)
Tools:
1 large sauce or saute pan, large enough to hold the sauce and all the fillets. Alternatively, use a pan large enough to cook only the sauce and pour the cooked sauce over cleaned and prepared fillets in a baking pan and cook the fish and sauce together in the oven. I use a stainless steel saute pan from Tramontina.
Measuring spoons
Large bowl for cleaning and soaking fish. Only necessary if defrosting frozen white fish fillets.
Small paring knife
Cutting board
Large wooden spoon
Instructions:
1. Rinse fish fillets and dry with paper towels, set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium
3. Add all spices to warm (not hot) oil and allow them to absorb some oil and release their aroma. Do not let them burn
4. Add garlic cloves to oil and spices and continue to simmer on medium-low heat until the garlic is aromatic.
5. Add optional garbanzo/hummus/chickpea beans.
6. Add whole spicy peppers and let mixture simmer in oil on medium-low heat.
7. Add sliced bell peppers and tomatoes and continue to simmer over medium heat
8. Add sugar and a dash of salt.
9. Pour a can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce over the mixture.
10. Fill the empty tomato can with 1/2 cup of cold water and swirl to incorporate leftover tomote in the can. Pour the tomato water into the sauce and continue to cook over medium-high heat.
11. Let the sauce mixture cook over medium heat for an hour, stirring occasionally.
12. Add more oil as needed, the mixture should not stick to the bottom of the pan and the consistency should be like a thick stew.
13. Stir in half of cilantro and continue cooking for a few minutes more.
14. Once the sauce is ready, you can add the fillets into the pan by pushing the sauce to one side as you add each fillet, alternatively, you can place your uncooked fillets in an baking pan and pour the sauce over the fillets.
15. In the saucepan, cook fillets and sauce on low heat until the fish is fully cooked.
16. in the oven, bake at 180 Celsius/375 Fahrenheit until fish is fully cooked and sauce is bubbling.
17. Garnish with remaining chopped cilantro, add salt and olive oil to taste.
Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and divide cooked whole peppers among servings.
Note:
This dish can be made ahead of time and reheated, you may need to add a splash of water and/or olive oil before reheating. This sauce makes enough to cover four fillets with some sauce left over or more thinly spread across six fillets. If you would like more sauce per fillet simply increase the ingredients and apply the same method.
Tomato paste can be substituted for canned diced tomatoes or tomato sauce in a pinch, but the water needs to be increased to a cup and a half.
This recipe keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.
For a vegan alternative, include the garbanzo/hummus beans in the sauce and serve over rice as the main dish.
This recipe is a Shabbat staple at our house, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
I would love to hear what you think, if you try the recipe please comment below!
Best,
Avigail
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