Dag Marokai Harif (Spicy Moroccan Salmon)

How I make it

1. Fill a bowl with cold water and lemon slices, and soak the fish pieces in it for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Pour a little oil into a wide pot with a lid. Arrange a layer of onion slices, and top with a layer of tomato slices.

3. Scatter the garlic cloves and the hot pepper over the top.

4. Take the fish out of the water and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange the pieces in the pot in a single even layer.

5. Lay the bunch of parsley or cilantro over everything and cover the pot.

6. Set the pot over high heat. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil.

7. Put the spices and the soup powder in a 4-cup measuring cup, fill it with 3 cups of boiling water, and stir.

8. Pour the mixture over the fish, add water to cover, and close the lid.

9. Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest heat for 3 hours.

10. Serve with challah.

What I've learned

• The longer the fish cooks, the tastier it comes out.
• When I don't want to use soup powder, I leave it out of the spices and add a cup of ready-made soup to the fish after pouring in the spice and water mixture. In the kosher version this is a pareve soup, because fish is not cooked with meat.