Spicy fish with tahini sauce (Samke harra)

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Salt the sea bass fillets, drizzle with the juice of one lemon and 2 tbsp olive oil and bake in an oiled tin for 12-15 minutes until just cooked.

2. Meanwhile fry the crushed garlic and chilli flakes in 3 tbsp olive oil over low heat for 1 minute, add half of the chopped coriander and stir for another half minute.

3. In a bowl whisk the tahini with the juice of the other lemon and the water; it thickens at first, then turns into a creamy, pourable sauce with the water; season with salt.

4. Pour the tahini into the garlic-chilli oil and heat over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.

5. Pour the sauce over the fish and bake for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden.

6. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and the remaining coriander and serve warm or at room temperature with Arabic flatbread.

Tip: "Harra" means hot - in Tripoli, Lebanon's northern port city, this dish is the pride of the fish markets. It is excellent cold too, so you can prepare it ahead for a mezze table. Any white-fleshed sea fish works, such as cod or sea bream.