Spice up summer suppers with a recipe from Falastin

The combination of fish and tahini is one we find hard to resist, but this works just as well without the tahini sauce if you’re looking for a shortcut or want to keep the focus on the lemon. Either way, this is as close to fast food as you can get. It’s a 15-minute meal to make, beginning to end. Possibly even less time to eat. Any other meaty white fish works just as well here: sea bass and halibut, for example. Salmon also works well.

Serves four

60ml olive oil

4 garlic cloves, crushed

50g coriander, finely chopped

2½ tsp fish spice mix

½ tsp chilli flakes

4 large cod loin (or another sustainably sourced white fish), skin on (about 700g)

4 large fresh bay leaves (optional)

2 lemons: cut one into 8 very thin slices, and quarter the other lengthways, into wedges, to serve

About 4 tbsp/65g tahini sauce (optional)

Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 250°C fan.

Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a small saucepan and place on a medium-low heat. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 10 seconds, then add the coriander, fish spice mix, chilli flakes, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper.

Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently, for the garlic to really soften, then remove from the heat.

Place the cod in a parchment-lined roasting dish, skin side down, and brush  with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper  then spoon the coriander mix on top of each fillet. Spread it out so that the whole top is covered, then top each one with a bay leaf, if using, along with  2 slices of lemon. Roast for 7–8 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Serve at once, with about a tablespoon of tahini sauce drizzled over, if using, and a wedge of lemon alongside.

Fish spice mix

Mix together 2 tsp ground cardamom, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp ground turmeric

Tahini sauce

Mix together 150g tahini, 2tbsp lemon juice, 1 crushed garlic clove, 120ml of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt. If it is too runny, add a bit more tahini. If it is too thick, add a bit more lemon juice or water. You want the consistency to be like that of a smooth, runny nut butter. It will thicken up when left to sit around, so just give it a stir and some more lemon juice or water every time you use it.

Extracted from FALASTIN: A COOKBOOK by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley (Ebury Press £28) Photography by Jenny Zarins