Tuna in chermoula with vegetables, couscous and caramelized apricots

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 4 tbsp fresh herbs, roughly chopped, e.g. mint, rosemary, thyme, parsley, coriander
• 1 large garlic clove(s), chopped
• ½ onion(s), chopped
• ½ lemon(s), squeezed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• cumin
• coriander
• salt and pepper
• 2 large tuna steaks
• 1 large onion(s), red
• 1 handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1 m.-large eggplant(s), or five dwarf eggplants
• 1 bell pepper(s)
• 1 m.-large zucchini
• 1 pepper, fresh, medium hot
• 1 tsp spice mix (Ras-El-Hanout)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 5 apricots, fresh
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp rosemary, chopped
• pepper
• possibly balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups couscous
• Water, salted
• 1 handful of raisins
• n. B. Harissa
• 4 large leaves of Radicchio Treviso lettuce, for serving

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Tuna: The fish is marinated in chermoula, a North African marinade made from chopped herbs. To do this, mix the herbs (I used parsley, thyme, a little mint, and a tablespoon of a six-herb mix from the freezer) with the garlic, chopped onion, and lemon juice. Season with cumin, coriander, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. The marinade shouldn’t be extremely runny, more like a pesto, but coarsely chopped. Rub the marinade all over the tuna steaks; it should then adhere to the fish. It’s best to let the marinade marinate for a few hours, as this will intensify the flavor. Vegetables: (These vegetable instructions are recommendations—buy according to taste and availability.) Cut everything except the tomatoes into equal-sized pieces. First, sauté the onions, bell peppers, chili peppers, and eggplant in olive oil. After about five minutes, add the zucchini and fry briefly. Then add the ras el hanout, salt, and pepper. Transfer the vegetables to an ovenproof dish, pierce the tomatoes several times with a fork, and add them. Remove the marinated fish from the marinade and place it on top of the vegetables. Cut a piece of baking paper the size of the dish (it should extend slightly over the top) and press it firmly onto the fish and into the dish along the sides. (If you have a tagine, you can cook everything on the stovetop; I don’t have one and use this instead. A Roman pot will probably work, too.) Now the whole thing needs to go into the oven at around 170 degrees Celsius. It’s difficult to give exact minutes; it depends on the thickness of the fish and how tender the vegetables already are. As a guideline: after about 30 minutes in my oven, the steaks, which were still slightly frozen at the beginning of cooking, were still slightly raw on the inside. Caramelized apricots: Cut the apricots into wedges. Melt the sugar and butter in a pan over low heat, stir until the mixture caramelizes, then add the apricots. Season with pepper and rosemary, and perhaps add a dash of balsamic vinegar for a slightly more acidic flavor. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Couscous You can prepare the couscous however you like best, either by blanching it with water or by steaming it. I use instant couscous, which can be blanched, and pour small amounts of boiling salted water over it in batches. To prevent it from becoming too sticky, I fluff it up with a fork every now and then and only add more water when the previous amount has been completely absorbed. Finally, I mix in the raisins. To give the couscous a nice grainy texture, place it in a pan with a little butter after blanching it and stir until it starts to crackle. You can also toss it in the pan in which you caramelized the apricots, which will give it a delicate flavor. Arrange the couscous on two radicchio leaves each, then divide the vegetables and fish between them, and serve the apricots separately. If it’s not spicy enough for you, you can add harissa.