Fresh spinach, herbs and spring onions come together here in a salad with crispy chickpeas, which is served with halibut and a punchy yogurt sauce for a quick and delicious supper The Persian lime powder is optional; it can be purchased ground, or you can start with a whole dried Persian lime, roughly crush it with the side of a knife and then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder This recipe doesn’t really need anything alongside, but some good bread could easily bulk it up. Turn it into a great vegetarian salad by eliminating the fish and adding some extra chickpeas.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup/60 milliliters olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground Persian lime powder Optional
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 lemons (finely grate the zest to get 2 teaspoons, juice to get 2 tablespoons and cut the remaining into wedges)
- 4 skinless boneless halibut fillets, patted dry (about 1 pound/410 grams total)
- 1 can chickpeas (15.5 ounces/400 grams), drained and patted dry
- 1/3 c plus 1 tablespoon/80 grams plain yogurt
- 1/4 packed cup/10 grams cilantro (coriander) leaves
- 2 packed tablespoons parsley leaves
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 small bunch large-leaf spinach, firm stems removed, leaves finely sliced
- 1 or 2
- Salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
Marinate the fish and chickpeas: In a small bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients together with the lemon zest. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of marinade to a bowl with the halibut and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of the marinade to a separate bowl with the chickpeas and stir to combine. Set both aside at room temperature for 20 minutes. Mix the remaining marinade together with the yogurt and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, blend the herbs together with the spring onions, spinach, chiles, lemon juice and a good pinch of salt.
Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, then add 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the chickpeas (and bits of garlic) and fry for 6 minutes, stirring every now and then until crisp and golden-brown. Transfer to a plate and wipe the pan clean.
Return the pan to a medium-high heat with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the halibut fillets, spaced apart, and fry for 3 minutes on one side, then flip and fry for another 2 minutes on the other side until both sides are crisp and golden brown.
Very carefully transfer the fillets to a large platter. Toss the chickpeas gently with the salad, then transfer the salad to the platter next to the halibut fillets. Drizzle half of the yogurt over the salad and serve with the lemon wedges and the remaining yogurt sauce alongside.