Recipe & Pairing | Hisham Assaad's Roasted fish with a spicy sauce

Beirut’s ever-changing, often turbulent, heritage means that its food has evolved an exciting character of its own. In “Bayrūt: Recipes from the heart of a Lebanese city kitchen” (available now!) Hisham Assaad shows you the best this cultural melting pot has to offer - lavish breakfast spreads, traditional Sunday feasts, fresh and vibrant salads, easy and nutritious dinners, even an afternoon tea with perfumed sweets and delicacies.

Here’s a supreme roasted fish with a spicy sauce that immediately caught our eye (how could it not?) and got us thinking of what we’d pair…

Pairing tip: "Forgive the little nerd out before we get into the pairing; Lebanon is one of the oldest wine production regions in the world, and they’ve been stomping grapes a stone’s throw from Beirut some two millenia(!) before Alexander the Great was knocking around the Levant. And whilst I’m not going to be reaching for a bottle that old, that’s kinda cool. What I will be reaching for is a rosé though, absolutely. Any will be magnificent. If you’re normally spice-averse, opt for a rosé with a lick of residual sugar to help take the edge off the chilli heat. And of course, perennial favourite riesling is also delicious here too.” - Nick

Pair this with...

Roasted fish with a spicy sauce (Samke Harra)

“I always wondered why we didn’t do more with some of the ingredients we have here.

For example, the most common way of preparing fish at home is just grilled with a twist of lemon, or flour-coated and fried with tarator (tahini sauce). It was only later that I realised that this was because of the freshness of the fish we get – the other ingredients only need to complement it rather than overpower it.

This recipe is common in Ras Beirut, where many men’s pastime is to take their
fishing rods and a small foldable chair and spend the morning or afternoon by the water, a few steps down from the Manara (lighthouse) seaside corniche, a popular spot for joggers, cyclists, couples on dates, old men chatting about politics, or families walking with their children. Samke harra is a feast dish suitable for gatherings (look for a meaty fish), and the garnished fish is a head-turner and a palate awakener. The bright aromas of lemon, coriander and garlic bring out the flavour of the fish, and the warm spicy sauce adds an extra kick!” - Hisham Assaad

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 lemons, thinly sliced
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) onions, sliced
400 g (14 oz) tomatoes, halved or cut into quarters
300 g (10½ oz) red bell peppers (capsicums), deseeded and cut into large chunks
40 g (11/2 oz) chillies, halved and deseeded
80 g (23/4 oz) garlic cloves
50 g (13/4 oz) fresh coriander (cilantro)
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus extra to taste
60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil, or more as needed
1 x 1.7–2 kg (3 lb 12 oz–4 lb 6 oz) sea bass or cod (or 2 smaller ones), gutted, cleaned and dried
pita or flatbreads, to serve (optional)

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

• Line a roasting tin with baking paper or foil and arrange the sliced lemons, onions, tomatoes, peppers and chillies over the surface.

• In a food processor, pulse the peeled garlic and coriander with the salt and olive oil until it creates a paste. Stuff the cavity of the fish with three-quarters of the paste. Brush the remaining paste over the skin of the fish, along with an extra drizzle of olive oil, if needed. Lay the fish on top of the vegetables and cover with foil.

• Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 10–15 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and carefully set the fish to one side. Let cool slightly until you can handle the vegetables, then remove and discard the lemon slices and peel the skins from the tomatoes, peppers and chillies. Chop the skinned roasted vegetables finely on a chopping board, then mix them together with the onion. Season to taste with salt.

• Serve the vegetable sauce on top of the fish or on the side, with the bread.
  

Recipe & images from Bayrūt: Recipes from the heart of a Lebanese city kitchen by Hisham Assaad, published by Smith Street Books, $49.99, available 29 April 2025. Food photography © Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton.