Samke Harra

Whole white fish, usually sea bass, snapper, or grouper: roasted or baked under a tahini-based sauce thickened with walnut, lemon, garlic, coriander, parsley, sumac, and sometimes a touch of chilli or pomegranate molasses. The Lebanese coastal answer to fish cookery, where the sauce is the centre of gravity rather than a finishing touch: tahini and walnut bring substantial nutty depth, lemon and sumac bring sharp acid, garlic and chilli bring punch, and the whole composition sits on top of clean white fish rather than dominating it. Trimethylamine rules out oak absolutely.