Sayadieh (Spiced Fish with Caramelized Onion Rice) 🐟 🇱🇧

Description

Flaky white fish over fragrant rice cooked with deeply caramelized onions, warm spices, and toasted nuts—lemony, aromatic, and elegant. 🫒

Hook
Brown onions until sweet and mahogany, bloom spices in the fat, then steam basmati in fish stock and finish with lemony, just-set fish. 🔥

Ingredients

• Fish
• 🐟 Firm white fish fillets (cod/hake/sea bass): 800 g (1.76 lb)
• 🧂 Fine salt: 6 g (1 tsp / 0.21 oz)
• ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🌾 All-purpose flour (light dredge): 20 g (2 tbsp / 0.7 oz)
• 🫒 Olive oil, for searing: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍋 Lemon: 1, cut in wedges
• Onion rice
• 🧅 Yellow onions, thinly sliced: 500 g (4 cups / 1.1 lb)
• 🫒 Olive oil: 45 ml (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🌾 Basmati rice, rinsed and soaked 15 min, drained: 300 g (1½ cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🧂 Fine salt: 9 g (1½ tsp / 0.32 oz)
• 🌿 Ground cumin: 3 g (1 tsp / 0.11 oz)
• 🌿 Ground coriander: 2 g (¾ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌰 Allspice: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🌕 Turmeric: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🍃 Bay leaves: 2
• 🐟 Fish stock (or light chicken/veg): 700 ml (3 cups / 24 fl oz)
• Finish
• 🌰 Toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds: 25 g (¼ cup / 0.9 oz)
• 🌿 Parsley, chopped: 10 g (¼ cup / 0.35 oz)
• 🍋 Extra lemon juice: 10 ml (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Caramelize onions
2. Heat 45 ml olive oil in a 28–30 cm sauté pan over medium. Add onions + pinch of salt; cook 18 min, stirring, to deep golden. Reserve ¼ for garnish.
3. 2️⃣ Build the rice
4. Stir cumin, coriander, allspice, and turmeric into the onions 30 sec. Add rice; stir 1 min to coat. Pour in 700 ml hot stock, add bay leaves and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, reduce to low, and cook 13 min. Remove from heat, keep covered 10 min to steam.
5. 3️⃣ Sear the fish
6. Pat fillets dry; season with salt and pepper, dust lightly with flour. Heat 30 ml oil in a non-stick or cast-iron over medium-high until shimmering. Sear fish 2 min per side to light color. Transfer to a tray and finish in a 200°C (392°F) oven 6 min (thick pieces up to 8 min) to just opaque (internal ≈52–55°C / 125–131°F). Squeeze a little lemon.
7. 4️⃣ Assemble & finish
8. Fluff rice; fold in toasted nuts, parsley, and 10 ml lemon juice. Mound on a platter, top with fish, then spoon over reserved caramelized onions. Serve with lemon wedges.

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 20 min

🍳 Cook/Bake: 35 min

😌 Rest: 10 min

🕒 Total: 65 min

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