Carp with Rice - Timmen Samak

Happy friday!  Any exciting weekend plans?  I am going to a barbecue tomorrow.  If I am feeling particularly adventurous, I'll going swimming.  I don't mean recreational swimming but lap swimming.  

I really enjoy lap swimming.  It's great exercise, and I enjoy how my mind wanders because of the repetitive motion.  I do lots of good meditating when I swim.

This great recipe came from The Iraqi Cookbook.  It was very delicious.  It is supposed to have sumac, but I made mine without it.  I'm sure sumac makes the dish even better.

The ingredients for this dish are 2 pounds whiting fillets, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, salt, pepper, juice of 1 lemon, and a pinch of turmeric.  I was supposed to use either carp of cod fillets, but the supermarket near my home is small and has a limited selection.

I fried the onions in a little oil until they were soft.

I added the almonds and continued to fry the onions until they were a little brown.

Once the onions were brown, I added the raisins.

I stirred this mixture and then set it aside.

I sprinkled the fish with turmeric, salt, and pepper.

I cooked the filets on each side in a little oil for about two minutes.  It didn't take long for the fish to fully cook.  I had to cook the fish in batches because my pan was small.

I cooked the rice according to the package's instructions and then added the onion, raisin, and almond concoction.  This was excellent in and of itself.

With the fish and rice ready, I was prepped for final assembly.  I added half the rice to a clean and lightly oiled pan.  On top of half the rice, I layered half of the fish fillets.

I added the remaining rice on top of the fish.

I added the rest of the fish fillets and then covered the pan with its lid.  I let this simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Before digging in, I squeezed the juice of a lemon on the dish for some nice, bright freshness.

This dish deserves a gold star.  It's easy and requires few ingredients, yet it's totally scrumptious.    

 It has hearty meat, but it's lighter then a beef or pork dish.  The flavor is really excellent.

The raisins and almonds add a special touch to the dish.  It's a little exotic but mostly just a nice, homey, and comforting meal.  I think you'd like it!