Sayadieh
Rice cooked in fish stock and deeply, slowly caramelized onions until it absorbs both, then topped with pan-fried fish and toasted pine nuts and almonds, served with a tahini-lemon sauce. A defining dish of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, genuinely shared with Palestine and the wider Levant; the caramelized onions can't be rushed, since a lightly sauteed batch loses the deep flavor that gives sayadieh its name, Arabic for "fisherman."
Seafood
⚠ Contains: Fish, Gluten, Sesame, Tree Nut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 700g firm white fish fillets (cod, snapper, or hammour), plus bones/head if available for stock
- 2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
- 4 large onions, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil, plus oil for frying the fish
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 cups fish stock or water
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts and slivered almonds
- Flour, for dusting the fish
- Salt, to taste
- Tahini, lemon juice, and garlic, for the tahini sauce
Steps
- If using fish bones or head, simmer in water with a bay leaf and onion scraps for 30 minutes to make stock, then strain and reserve.
- Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper, dust lightly with flour, and pan-fry in olive oil until golden and just cooked through; set aside.
- In a heavy pot, heat 4 tbsp olive oil and cook the sliced onions slowly over medium-low heat, stirring often, until deeply caramelized and dark golden brown, 30-40 minutes; do not rush this step.
- Remove half the caramelized onions for garnish; to the rest, add cumin, cinnamon, and allspice, and stir briefly.
- Add the rinsed rice to the pot, stir to coat in the onion-spice mixture, then add the hot fish stock.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 18-20 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
- Fluff the rice, mound onto a serving platter, top with the pan-fried fish and reserved caramelized onions, and garnish with toasted pine nuts and almonds.
- Serve with tahini-lemon sauce on the side.