The 27 Club - updated!

Welcome to the 27th meal of our challenge, Seriously Good Fish Tagine, Fennel & Lemon Salad and Couscous! I have to say, I am a pretty happy clam this week. After not being able to cook (or do anything really, for that matter) last week I was really excited to get back into the swing of things. This week's meal worked out perfectly and aside from being delicious, pretty and affordable, it was also one of the simplest and least messy dishes that have been concocted so far. I skipped over the tea this week, as no good quality fresh mint was available anywhere that I looked. It would have been fabulous with the meal but just wasn't going to work out. The whole dish has a sort of Middle Eastern feel to it, with the spices and styles of cooking. It is truly delicious. So here is just how it all happened...

First up, the shopping. I usually set aside a budget of about $50-$70 for challenge dinners, knowing that I'll need to buy all fresh vegies, meat/fish, spices and anything else I don't have in the cupboard. But this week was a real surprise! I had a lot of the spices already stored up from previous dinners, the fish ended up costing me about $25 all up and then I only needed a few basic bits of veg to get me through. All up it cost just under $50 to put on the whole meal, working out to about $12.50 a serve. $12.50 a serve for a filling and delicious seafood dinner! Worth every penny. The other great thing about shopping this week was that when I went to the fish market they actually had everything I needed, as I needed it. Skinned, pin-boned, de-bearded, scrubbed... it has probably been the easiest trip there so far. Often I find myself madly googling fish substitutions while I stand there, ankle-deep in ice and fish scales, trying to figure out what the Australian translation or substitution is. Not this time!

As I mentioned earlier, this is by far one of the simplest dishes that I've cooked in this challenge. Pretty much everything gets cooked in the container that you serve it in (tagine, roasting tray, serving dish, etc) so there's very little mess in terms of dishes! The tagine was dead easy to make, given that you basically throw all the ingredients into the pot, stir it for a few minutes and then pop the lid on and leave it be. It also looks super impressive when it is almost ready, with the contrast of the lovely red of the sauce and the rich dark shine of the mussels. Having never eaten mussels before I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can say that this dish has made me a fan! They look cool, they taste great and the cooking is so simple that they pretty much take care of themselves. I recommend this one!

The monkfish was beyond easy to make as well, it was just a matter of cutting the fillets down to size (the offcuts get thrown into the tagine to bubble away while the fillets are roasting), season with some spice, garlic and olive oil and then leave them in the oven for a few minutes. They come up beautifully, taste great and are perfectly complimented by a quick mixture of natural yoghurt, harissa and olive oil. Harissa is also something I had not had the pleasure of trying ever before, so I made sure to find a nice one. Thanks to my sister, who sourced some for me, I ended up with a really aromatic and tasty harissa paste. The heat of the paste mixed with the cooling yoghurt and added to the fish made for a really yummy dish.

The salad was ridiculously simple also, all it took was a whole lemon and some fennel thrown into a food processer, then topped with salt, pepper and olive oil. Seriously, thats all it is. (Unless of course you include the coriander, which I did not. You all know why). It is fresh, light and goes perfectly with the meal. I used to really loathe fennel, but I have to say I've really come to enjoy it (at least in this format). I think I'll be making it a lot more often when summer rolls around, it would be perfect with a bbq meal! And the couscous was so simple it barely deserves a mention. It was as easy as putting it in a serving dish, pouring water and olive oil over it, covering it for five minutes and then giving it a stir. Done!

And that is it! Next week we get the pleasure of taking on a more Eastern European-inspired meal when we put together Smoked Salmon, Beets & Cottage Cheese, Potato Salad, Rye Bread AND Homemade Butter! I can't wait for it, the images in the book make it look so tasty, and also it is the middle of winter here and sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a hearty european meal!

Until then - Bon Appetit!