Lebanese Spiced Fish and Rice — Fish Sayadieh Rice
Lebanese coastal fish-and-rice with deeply caramelised onion, warm cumin and cinnamon, and toasted pine nuts, served with a tahini-lemon sauce alongside.
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Pat both fish fillets dry and rub each with 5ml olive oil, 0.75 tsp cumin, 0.25 tsp turmeric, 0.25 tsp black pepper, and 0.5 tsp salt; rest 10 minutes. Halve and thinly slice 400g onion. Rinse 140g basmati rice until water runs clear. Grate 2 garlic cloves. Whisk tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to taste in a bowl.
Saute
Heat 60ml olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high 1 minute. Add onion and 0.5 tsp salt; stir every 2 minutes for 16 to 18 minutes until evenly deep mahogany brown. Transfer two-thirds to paper towel; leave one-third in the pan.
Build
Add rinsed rice, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp cumin, 0.5 tsp allspice, and 0.5 tsp salt to the onion pan; stir 1 minute. Pour 400ml hot water, bring to a simmer, cover tightly, and cook on lowest heat 14 to 15 minutes until liquid absorbs.
Sear
While rice cooks, heat a non-stick pan over medium-high 1 minute. Lay both fish fillets skin-side down, cook undisturbed 5 to 6 minutes until skin crisps and lifts cleanly. Flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more until flesh flakes when pressed.
Finish
Thin tahini sauce with cold water 1 tbsp at a time until it drips slowly off a spoon. Off heat, rest rice covered 5 minutes. Toast 20g pine nuts if not already toasted.
Plate
Fluff rice with a fork and divide between two plates, mounding in the center. Set one fish fillet on top of each rice mound, crown with reserved caramelised onion and toasted pine nuts, scatter 10g parsley evenly, and serve tahini-lemon sauce and lemon wedges alongside.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.