Name: Wild Red Snapper Crudo with Tomato Jam and Harissa
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Mediterranean
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

Wild Red Snapper Crudo with Tomato Jam and Harissa

Jonah Chusid

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

Mediterranean

Author:

Jonah Chusid

Servings

1

Prep Time

35 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour 30 minutes

Calories

280

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

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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.

Recipe Note

Long before “crudo” became shorthand for raw fish on white tablecloths, fishermen on either side of the Mediterranean were eating exactly this — the day’s catch, sliced thin, anointed with good olive oil and whatever grew or was preserved nearby. In Sicily it became crudo di pesce, sometimes dressed with nothing more than sea salt, citrus, and a slick of olive oil. Two hundred miles south, the same fish landed in Tunisian kitchens where the language of flavor was different: harissa pounded from smoked chiles, caraway, garlic, and olive oil; tomatoes simmered with cinnamon and cumin until they tasted like jam from a dream.

Nutrition

per serving: Calories; 280

Amount/Serving % Daily Value

Protein: 19 grams
Fat: 17 grams
Saturated Fat: 2 grams
Monounsaturated Fat: 12 milligrams
Carbs: 12 grams
Sugar: 7 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Cholesterol: 30 milligrams
Sodium: 625 milligrams

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.