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Raya bel Batata

Small skate, tender enough to fry quickly, should be used for this Tunisian dish. The wings are bought already dressed from the fishmonger.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

4 small wings of skate, weighing 2 pounds
4 cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt
About 1/2 cup olive oil
1 pound potatoes, peeled, boiled, and sliced
Pepper
2 tablespoons capers
1 or 2 lemons, cut in quarters, to serve with

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut the fish into pieces about 2 inches wide, cutting in between the long soft bones. Rub the pieces with a mixture of garlic, cumin, salt, and 3–4 tablespoons of the olive oil.

    Step 2

    In a large frying pan, fry the fish pieces in batches in shallow oil, giving them about 4 minutes on either side, until the flesh begins to part from the bone. Remove to a baking dish.

    Step 3

    Sauté the potatoes slowly in the same oil, adding salt and pepper and more oil, and turning them over, until they are tender.

    Step 4

    Add the capers towards the end. Reheat the fish in a 400°F oven, covered with foil. Serve on a bed of the sautéed potatoes accompanied by lemon wedges.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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