Mahi ba Somagh (Sumac Roasted Fish)

Philly Cook, FWIW, there’s another NYT recipe that calls for butterflying trout and roasting with lemon and broccolini, and I make it with fillets all the time (and not just trout - tilapia is just fine!) Def going to try them with this one! Also for sumac lovers: the NYT recipe for chicken with sumac (mussakhan) is delicious and dead simple.

Would it be possible to make this with a fish fillet? Free of the bones?

This was SO good and flavorful . We made it on the grill (too hot to turn on the oven today!) in an aluminum foil tray, and we did it this time with Sable filet. EASY and very successful The juices in the tray were great scooped on top of the fish when serving. LOVED the pop of sumac with the sweetish citrus. Garnished with mint and citrus slices as in the pic. Will make again, and will try other fish types too!

I love the idea of fish with sumac. But since I had no orange or lime, what to do? How about a layer of lemony aioli topped with salt, chile flakes, and sumac? On actual mahi-mahi? It was great, which just shows how much latitude the fish/sumac pairing has. Next time, who knows. But don't forget the mint.

RE: making with boneless fillets - other than the prep being simplified, the recipe should not change. It suggests roasting "until cooked through". Roasting time depends on fillet thickness: for whole fish, the bones themselves are too insubstantial to impact this time, so a range of 8-12 minutes should be OK.

Hi - I cut down the quantities and made a salmon fillet with the same ingredients...baked the fish w vegetables and a bit of broth at 400 for 20 mins, then covered with foil and reduced to 350. Perfect! The sumac, turmeric, lime juice, orange peel and olive oil were sensational. I was worried about the turmeric tasting raw because you mix it with the sumac, but with the broth and oven cooking, it worked well!

I'd never heard of sumac until - hmm - maybe 1988 when a tiny local corner store was a lovely guy from Beirut Lebanon ('Paris of the East' he called it) who got out an electric frypan and cooked up some chicken for me almost as a favour as we were just having a friendly conversation - if I recall he sprinkled sumac on it - I was intrigued by the purple colour - but when I tasted it I was 'WOW ! Where have you been all my life ?!!?'

Worth it to buy the sumac. Many wonderful Ottolenghi recipes use it. Also try the Mussakhan (Roast Chicken With Sumac and Red Onions) on this site.

For those of us who are unwilling to go out and buy a spice that we'll probably only use once, I suggest that you combine 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (about 1 lemon), 1 tablespoon of black pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt. There's your sumac.

Outstanding for fish tacos. Warm corn tortillas, cabbage slaw, crema, and guacamole.

Made successfully with tilapia fillets.

The first time I made this I had the fish butterflied, bones left in. Then when served and lifting out the bones, all the seasoning went with them. :( Next time will have the fishmonger fillet the fish.

Here in London we can get small, boned and gutted sea bass/branzini as a matter of course from the supermarkets. This is a delicious presentation and, if someone else does all the hard work with the fish, super easy.

We recently bought a jar of fresh single origin sumac, a spice we've never used before, and this was our recipe to test it out on. Oh boy, did it come out fabulous! Made this with a very large lingcod fillet (also our first time having lingcod) and it was a beautiful pairing, though the big fillet needed a little extra cooking time. Also added a dash of earthy ground chillies (Byadgi chillies from Diaspora) to the turmeric and sumac mixture, and that was a good choice. Rave reviews!

Did this with red snapper fillets (about 1/2 inch thick) 7 to 8 min was just about right. don't forget the mint, yum!