Sometimes I see a recipe somewhere and I think, “That looks awesome, I’m making it for dinner this week.” The ingredients go on the shopping list and I think I’m all set. Then the time comes to cook the meal and I can’t find the recipe anywhere, like it was a figment of my imagination. There are so many places I find recipes, so many ways they pop into my life every day, it can be like a wild goose chase trying to hunt down any one in particular. Lucky for me, this one was simple enough that I was able to re-construct it, or at lease a pretty good facsimile, with little trouble. But I still have no idea where I got the idea in the first place.
Lentils and curry are a natural pairing. I’ve cooked several curried lentil dishes in the past, and some of them have even made repeat appearances in my kitchen, which is kind of a rare thing. But I’ve never made one with quite these flavors before, and I have to say, the fresh ginger was a big winner. I still don’t like to buy ginger often, because it’s not usually my favorite flavor, and it seems to shrivel up and die much sooner than I could possibly use it. But I loved it here so much I’m convinced I should try it in other dishes, and soon.
The garam masala here also made for a different kind of curry than my usual. Garam masala varies depending on where you get it, or what you put in it, if you make it yourself. It’s usually some combination of pepper, cloves, cardamom, cumin, and coriander, along with some other, more unusual spices, like mace. I don’t actually remember where I got mine, and I don’t know what, specifically is in it. But once it’s gone, I might try my hand at mixing my own. Just for kicks. You can usually find it in the spice aisle at larger grocery stores.
The original recipe, wherever it may be, called for tilapia, but when I was at the market, they had whole branzini on sale, and they looked beautiful. Branzini is a European, or Mediterranean seabass, and it’s a firm white fish with a delicate flavor. It was a perfect balance to the strongly flavored lentils, and both were very nicely offset by a minty raita.
I was inspired to cook a whole fish by my more-adventurous brother, Andy, who roasted two whole red snappers while I was home in San Diego. They were delicious, and didn’t look difficult at all, so I thought I’d give it a try. These weren’t difficult, either, although you have to watch out for the bones. Ask the person at the market to gut, clean, and scale the fish. I had the head left on, but the fins trimmed.
Curried Lentils with Grilled Branzini
For the lentils
- about 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small white onion
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1 1-inch knob of ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 cup green lentils
- 2 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- salt to taste
For the fish
- 1 small whole fish, cleaned and scaled, approximately 2 pounds
- a few slices of lemon
- about 1 tablespoon olive oil
- a sprinkle of salt and pepper
For the raita
- about 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt (I used thick Greek yogurt)
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- about 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- a pinch of salt
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Chop the onion, and add it to the hot oil. Give it a quick stir, and let it cook until the onions are golden and soft. Mince the garlic and add the the pot. Peel and mince the ginger, and add that, too. Stir everything together and cook about 30 seconds. Stir in the garam masala, then the lentils. Add the broth, cover the pot, and let it come to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Once the lentils are tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed, they’re done. Season to taste with salt.
While the lentils are cooking, heat a grill to about a medium flame. Stuff the lemon slices into the fish. The fish is small, so they’ll probably stick out a bit, but that’s ok. Drizzle the oil over both sides of the fish, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the fish for about 7 minutes on each side, or until the skin is crackly and the fish is cooked through.
While the fish and the lentils are cooking, mix your raita: It’s very simple, just stir the ingredients together and season to taste. If you’d like it a bit cooler, add more mint. If you want a bit more tang, add more lemon.
I wish I could tell you how to cut the fish to serve, but Sean handled that. He cut off the head and tail, and used a fish knife to cut along the spine, so there were two fillets. However you cut it, serve the fish over the lentils with a little dollop of raita. Delicious.
We found the fish was enough to serve the two of us, and there were enough lentils leftover for two more meals. I like to eat the leftover lentils with pasta, but some nice canned tuna would be delicious, too. If you don’t want leftovers, you can easily halve the lentil recipe.