My family has always served dinner with a big salad piled high with lots of fresh veggies, drizzled with herby lemon vinaigrette, and sprinkled with lots of zesty sumac. But our salad is no mere side salad. We heap it onto our main course plates, so that there’s pretty much a 1:1 ratio of salad to everything else. So needless to say, when I was planning this series of 3 masgouf posts (also known as masguf or masgoof), everyone in my family opted for the green and herby masgouf.
But not everyone has to be so fanatical about fresh, green flavors. On the other side of the spectrum, many people gravitate toward those really umami, smoky flavors that characterize the best barbecue, chili, rogan josh, anchovy pizza, tapenade, and miso soup. And if this list has you drooling, this is certainly the masgouf for you.
All this is, of course, not to say that people who like umami hate freshness, or that people who love bright flavors hate deep flavors—a really good meal will have a balance of both. But everyone has a different idea of what a perfect balance looks like.
To make this masgouf the smokiest, moodiest, and deepest, I replaced some of the curry powder with the deeper flavors of paprika and dried thyme, which gives the final dish a less sunny disposition. But the real heart of this masgouf is the slow-roast tomatoes, which spend hours developing a very intense flavor. My husband and I call these Erin and Alvin tomatoes, after our friends who taught us how to roast them this way. Alvin suggests cutting the tomatoes in half as levelly as possible, so that they don’t lose any juices while they roast. As you can see below, for me, this is aspirational. But they come out wonderfully, no matter how wonkily you slice them, and the over-caramelized (ahem, burnt!) pools of tomato juices are simply left behind on the pan, to be washed away with all your worries about perfection.
These tomatoes are also really delicious smeared with goat cheese on challah or brioche, cut into quarters and tossed with some pasta and basil leaves, or spread on cornbread, fresh from the oven (seriously, try these with cornbread). If you’re using them for something else, feel free to use different herbs and spices, or leave them out altogether. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to double the tomato part of the recipe, so that you have some left over.
The trickiest thing about this masgouf recipe is making sure nothing burns, since the tomatoes essentially get cooked twice. You want some char, but you don’t want to turn your tomatoes to ashes. If you’re really worried about it, you can simply place the roast tomatoes on the fish after it’s finished cooking, but I think something special happens when the fish cooks together with the tomatoes. So to have the best of both worlds, I cook this masgouf by topping the raw fish with the slow-roast tomatoes and raw onions, roasting the entire dish for a few minutes at a lower-than-usual temperature, and then tenting it loosely with foil for the rest of the cooking time to make sure nothing burns. All of this is in the recipe, but it’s worth nothing that you should use your own judgment when deciding if and when to tent.
smoky, moody, and deep masgouf
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 4 1/2 hours
- Yield: 2 to 3 servings (can easily be multiplied)
Ingredients
slow-roasting the tomatoes:
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
14 ounces of whole black tomatoes (or garden variety red tomatoes), about 2 large tomatoes
marinating the fish:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
10 to 12 ounces of white, lean fish fillets (about 1 big or 2 small fillets) *
grilling the fish:
marinated fish (above)
roast tomatoes (above)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onions (fill a quarter cup halfway)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch salt
Optional: 1 teaspoon minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Slow roast the tomatoes: Pre-heat the oven to 325° F.
- Combine the curry, thyme, paprika, olive oil, and salt in a small bowl.
- Do not remove the stems or hull the tomatoes. Simply slice the tomatoes in half, cutting from one side to the other, rather than cutting from stem to end. Try to make your cut as level and horizontal as possible.
- Coat the tomatoes in the oil-spice mixture and place the tomatoes cut-side-up on a roasting pan (optionally, using a silicone mat will help you remove them later).
- Slow-roast the tomatoes in the oven, checking every 30 minutes to make sure they are not burning. ** If the tomatoes seem to be browning very quickly early on, turn the heat down to 300° F and be prepared to cook them longer. The tomatoes are done once they have have shrunk significantly, browned nicely, and no longer ooze juice. This will take between 2 to 4 hours, depending on the tomatoes’ size and sugar content, and can be done up to 3 days ahed of time, and kept in the refrigerator.
- Once the tomatoes are done, remove the stems and use kitchen shears to snip away any burnt bits.
- Marinate the fish: Add the lemon juice, curry powder, thyme, paprika, olive oil, and salt to a large ziplock bag, seal the bag and mix everything around by squeezing the bag a few times.
- Pat the fish dry with paper towels, and place it in the bag with the marinade. Squeeze the bag to evenly coat the fish in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours if you want to make it ahead).
- Grill the fish: Once the fish has marinaded, preheat the grill to medium-high. If you’re baking, pre-heat the oven to 425° F.
- To assemble the onion topping: combine the red onions, lemon juice, curry powder, thyme, paprika, and salt.
- Take the fish from the marinade, do not pat it dry, and place it on a grill-safe tray (with a rim if you’re using the oven).
- Top the fish with the roast tomatoes, followed by the onion topping. Bake or grill (with the lid down) for 2 minutes and then check on the masgouf. Loosely tent the fish with foil if the tomatoes are browning too quickly, or leave it untented and continue to check on it every few minutes.
- Continue to grill or bake until the fish is flaky. Cooking times vary, depending on the shape and size of your fish and the particular quirks of your grill, but you can count on at least 10 minutes on the grill (or at least 15 minutes in the oven).
- Garnish with minced parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
* Catfish is pictured, but you could use tilapia, cod, carp, branzino, or any other similar fish.
** Don’t worry if any runaway drippings start to burn.
Tried this recipe and I was amazed at the flavor. Loved every bite. I made it with halibut and it came out exceptional. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe, Kathryn!
Thank you so much Izzah!! You’re the best! <3