This recipe lives in the salt-spray between North Africa and the Mediterranean coasts. Wild red snapper, cut sashimi-thin and seasoned with sumac and lemon, gets a smear of slow-cooked tomato jam that's sweet, spiced, and almost meaty. A touch of rose harissa finishes it off. It's clean, fiery, and unmistakably North African while still reading as a crudo to anyone who's eaten one.
Wild Red Snapper Crudo with Tomato Jam and Harissa
Jonah Chusid
1
35 minutes
1 hours 30 minutes
280
Mediterranean
Dinner
This recipe lives in the salt-spray between North Africa and the Mediterranean coasts. Wild red snapper, cut sashimi-thin and seasoned with sumac and lemon, gets a smear of slow-cooked tomato jam — sweet, spiced, almost meaty and a comma of harissa to finish. It’s clean, fiery, and unmistakably North African while still reading as a crudo to anyone who’s eaten one.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tomato Jam
- 12 oz Wild Red Snapper Filet
- 2-3 tbsp Harissa
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
- 1 tsp ground Sumac
- 2 tbsp of Intense EVOO
- 1 handful Fresh Mint
- 1 handful Flat Leaf Parsley
- 2 tbsp roasted pine nuts
- 1 small Red Shallot
Directions
Prep the Snapper. Working with a very cold fillet and a very sharp knife, slice the snapper against the grain into pieces about ⅛-inch thick. Lay the slices flat on a chilled plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate while you assemble everything else. The fish should never get warmer than refrigerator-cold.
Build the plate. Spread 2–3 generous tablespoons of tomato jam in a loose swoosh across the bottom of each chilled plate. Lay 4–5 slices of snapper over and around the jam, slightly overlapping. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fish, then sprinkle with lemon zest, sumac, and flaky salt.
Drizzle and dot. Drizzle the olive oil over the fish. Place small dots of harissa (a half teaspoon at a time) around the plate. Don’t smear; you want bursts of heat, not a coating.
Garnish and serve. Scatter mint, parsley, shallot, and pine nuts across the top. Finish with rose petals if using. Serve immediately with warm flatbread or pita chips on the side.
