Lebanese Samkeh Harra Recipe
Folks in the city of Tripoli/Mina in Lebanon are well known for their seafood . And on top of the pyramid lays “Samke Harra.” Translated from Arabic, it simply means spicy fish. This is a specialty Lebanese Samkeh Harra Recipe where a baked fish is baked, then covered with a mouth-watering tangy, garlicky, spicy and hearty Tahini sauce . For those who are not familiar with Tahini, it’s a paste made from crushing/blending roasted sesame seeds and can be easily purchased online these days.
Tahini Fish Recipe
The fish can be filets or whole (scaled). In the US, we found that the best fish for this recipe is the real Red Snapper, followed by Ling Cod or any pacific cod type of fish. I’ve had it made with Salmon before and it wasn’t as good, the strong Salmon flavor just didn’t go well with the Tahini.
Lebanese Samkeh Harra
Lebanese Samkeh Harra, Spicy Tahini Fish Recipe
Tahini Paste Brand for Lebanese Samkeh Harra Recipe
We’ve tried several Tahini/sesame paste brands, and the old school Lebanese Alkanater brand stands out to us above the rest.
AlKanater Tahini Paste
I’ve also personally tried Samke Harra in many restaurants in Lebanon and outside made in different styles, and the best method that I liked is the one by the folks from El-Mina, featured here. Sorry my Beirutis. And if you visit Tipoli, El-Mina in Lebanon, make sure to pass by Abou Fadi’s restaurant. It carries the name of it’s late owner who himself was a fisherman. Abou Fadi made the best Samke Harra sandwiches hands down at least back in the day, because he always used fresh fish and had a special touch in making his Tahini sauce. Fortunately we found this youtube video about the Abu Fadi restaurant in Tripoli El-Mina, recorded by Dirty Kitchen Secrets for the curious.