Colleen Woods, MS, RDN, CLC
May 7, 20202 min
Updated: Jun 17, 2022
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating fish 2-3 times per week. Nutritionally, this can improve your cholesterol by swapping out unhealthy fats from red meat or poultry with the skin for healthy fats like omega-3s. Fish oil is being heavily studied for its effects on brain health, heart health, depression, and other conditions.
This Tahini Lemon Fish recipe is actually a Middle Eastern recipe called Tajen Samak bi Tahina. It's simple to make, and the only ingredient that may be new to you is tahini.
If you're not familiar with tahini, it is a tan-colored, creamy condiment made from ground sesame seeds. You may have had it without knowing it since it's a common ingredient in hummus.
You can buy tahini in any grocery store; it's usually found in the salad dressing aisle, but you may also find it in the ethnic aisle or even the Seasonal aisle (I don't know why, but that's where it is in my grocery store!)
Tahini has about 2.5g of protein per tablespoon as well as a little bit of fiber (1.4g). Although it has 1g of saturated fat per tablespoon, you don't need much more than that to enjoy the flavor, so it's well within your saturated fat range for the day (22g for 2,000 calorie diet).
Here's the recipe. You can use any fish you'd like, but a thick white filet like halibut or mahi mahi works well.
1 pound of fish fillets, skinned and cut into 6 pieces
Salt, to taste
1 large onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup tahini
¼ cup lemon juice, or to taste
½ cup water, or more as required
1/8 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 or 2 lemons, cut in wedges, to serve with
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Season the fish with salt.
In a large pan, sweat the onions in the oil with the lid on over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and just beginning to color.
In a bowl, beat into the tahini the lemon juice and enough water to obtain a light creamy consistency (it will stiffen at first, before becoming smooth and runny). Add salt to taste.
Spread the onions on the bottom of a baking dish, lay the fish on top, and pour the sauce all over the fish. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. Serve sprinkled with parsley and lemon wedges. Add veggies to complete the meal!