Hammour Cartocio (Any Fish Fillet)

When I was in Kuwait the first time (2004) I stayed at the Swiss Inn. This is a good but unpretentious hotel accessed off a side street with no glitzy entrance. When I returned in 2006, I requested the same hotel. When I arrived in Kuwait I found lots of the same excellent staff from my first trip. The maitre d' was the same as before and at my request he was able to get this recipe for an entrée I especially liked.

There is not much sightseeing in Kuwait; one of the few local points of interest is the huge fish market. I took the photo of a freshly caught hammour at this market.
While hammour is not readily available in this country, this recipe works equally well with cod.
This sauce freezes well and given the large number and small amounts of ingredients is easier to make less frequently in larger quantities.

Ingredients: After all weight measurements (original recipe is in metric units) the recipe adds "Approximately". I just use small amounts and try to keep proportions the same.

In a frying pan heat:

4 T olive oil
2 bay leaves
Black Pepper
Cloves
1 oz chopped onion
½ oz chopped garlic

Fry until brown, then add:

½ oz diced sweet pepper
1 oz diced celery
½ oz diced leeks
½ oz chopped carrot

Sauté for 10 minutes, then add:

½ oz sliced black olive
½ Magi Cube [I omit]
1 T basil pesto
1 oz chopped tomato

Add fish (1 pound) and cook for 5 minutes or more depending on thickness of fish, until fish is well done.

Reviewed 5/23/2017