Take a classic Italian dish of raw fish, dress it with Middle Eastern staples like zaatar, preserved lemon and sumac and and you got a great example of the New Israeli cuisine: a dish that’s not traditional but feels right in place in the region.

Make sure the fish comes from a fishmonger you trust, as it is going to be served raw (although the lemon juice ‘cooks” the fish and keels all bacteria after 30 minutes.)

Red snapper crudo with oregano, preserved lemon and yogurt

Recipe by Vered GuttmanCourse: AppetizersCuisine: Israeli, new Israeli, Middle EasternDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Preserved lemon and sumac are available at some Whole Foods, as well as Middle Eastern, some Kosher supermarkets and online.
Fresh zaatar plants are available from some plant nurseries online, but fresh oregano is a good substitute.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Red snapper fillet(or any firm white fish, like tilapia)
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
½ cup Greek Yogurt
2-3 tablespoons preserved lemon, preferably homemade
4 green onion
1 ripe avocado
¼ cup fitted kalamata olives, preferably dry cured
2-3 tablespoons fresh zaatar leaves (see note above) or oregano
1-2 Thai chili pepper or Serrano, thinly sliced
Kosher salt to taste
1 tablespoon sumac (see note above)
2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Hold your knife in a 45 degrees angle and slice fish to ¼ inch slices (that’s the classic crudo style, but you can also simply dice the dish to ¼ inch dice.) Put fish in a small bowl, pour lemon juice over it, mix, cover and put in the fridge for 10-30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Mix Greek yogurt vigorously to make it smooth and spread at the bottom of a serving platter. Slice preserved lemon and green onion, dice avocado and olives, thinly slice chili peppers.
Arrange fish slices over the yogurt and sprinkle with a little salt. Arrange the preserved lemon, onion, avocado, olives, zaatar and chili pepper all over and around the fish and sprinkle with a little more salt and sumac and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.