Fish Couscous (BRW)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 dried hot red chiles
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, preferably waxy, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads, optional [Basically a whole Trader Joe's jar worth.  Since this saffron is so cheap, it can't possibly be real saffron, but whatevs.]
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Cayenne to taste
• One 3-pound red snapper, grouper, black sea bass, or other firm fish, gilled, gutted, scaled, and cut crosswise through the bone into big chunks
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
• 4 cups cooked couscous
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Mise en place.  I figured I could deal with the zucchini and the fish while dealing with other things.

I'm figuring that it's hard to find whole fish unless one goes to Chinatown which I didn't have the time for today.  After sticker shock at Whole Foods, I wound up buying tilapia at Stop and Shop.  Tilapia didn't really strike me as a particularly firm fish, but it seemed like my best option.

Cook oil, garlic and chiles until aromatic.

Add onions and cook until translucent.

Stir in carrots, celery, potatoes, bay leaves, and cumin.  Add 1 quart water, bring to a boil and then simmer.

Add tomatoes and saffron and cook until the tomatoes break down.

Add zucchini and fish and cook until the fish is cooked through.

A satisfying and interesting dish?  For sure, but I could've lived without the endless picking out of all the little bones.  Plus it probably would've been markedly better with the right type of fish.

Stuck-Pot Rice with Potato Crust (HCEV)

• Salt
• 1 1/2 cup white or brown basmati rice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Large pinch saffron threads (optional)
• 1 large or 2 small waxy potatoes, like Yukon Gold or other thin-skinned variety
• 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

Mise en place.

 
 I parboiled the brown basmati I used for 15 minutes.


Sauteing fennel until soft.


Above layer over half of the rice.


Potatoes layered over the rest of the rice.  Nicked my thumb with the mandoline slicing the potatoes since the guard I have for it must have gotten lost at some point.


I wrapped the lid in a towel while cooking the rice in order to prevent evaporated moisture to drip back down into my dish, enabling me to perhaps brown the potatoes.


Argh, potentially the heat was too low (Bittman suggests you cook it over "very low" heat).  I know he also says that when "potatoes start to smell toasty--you will know", but I was impatient and kept bending down sniffing the pot in search of subtle hints that perhaps this was happening.
Oh perhaps next time, if there is a next time.