Dates, of course, are a staple food of the Sahara and many other deserts; they grow on palm trees, keep forever, and, to nomads, are far more important than any bread product. But only in coastal North Africa and parts of the Middle East does date country meet the sea and a dish like this come about. Substitute prunes for dates if you prefer. A simple pilaf, chosen from among those on pages 513 to 514, would be great here, as would Houria (page 191).

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 to 6 servings

　　One 3- to 4-pound grouper, red snapper, carp, or sea bass, gilled, gutted, and scaled, head may be on or off

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1 1/2 cups pitted dates

　　4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

　　1 large onion, sliced

　　1/2 cup dry white wine

　　1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Season the fish with salt and pepper inside and out. Roughly chop the dates and put them in the fish’s cavity along with half the butter. Use some of the remaining butter to grease the bottom of a roasting pan and dot the top of the fish with the rest of it. Toss the onion with the wine, cinnamon, ginger, and a little more salt and pepper and place in the bottom of the roasting pan; put the fish on top of this mixture. Seal the top with aluminum foil.

　　

Step 2

Bake the fish for about 30 minutes, undisturbed. Uncover, raise the oven heat to 450°F, and continue to roast, basting once or twice with the pan juices, until the fish begins to brown on top, about 15 minutes more. Serve the fish immediately with the dates, onions, and pan juices.

　　

Baked Fish with Almonds

Step 3

Make a paste by combining 1 cup blanched almonds, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a food processor with 2 tablespoons chilled butter; process, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, until smooth. You can mix this paste with the chopped dates or use it alone.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.