Samke harra

Samke harra is made with a whole fish, and the name says the recipe outright: hot fish. The fish goes into the oven or a tray with tomatoes, peppers, onion and lemon arranged around it and oil poured over. The point of the dish is the stuffing: coriander, green and red pepper, garlic, black pepper and salt are packed inside the fish, and as it cooks that is what scents the whole plate.

There is no single recipe

There are several ways to prepare it, and home and restaurant versions differ as well. Some recipes keep the fish whole, others cut it into pieces, and the level of heat is not fixed either. Two things are constant: the coriander and garlic pairing in the stuffing, and the sauce poured over as it leaves the kitchen.

Where to look for it

Because it is a fish dish you look for it on the coast: Tartus and Latakia. It appears on menus inland too, but fish inland is not what fish is at the shore. On the coast you are usually asked to pick the fish from the counter and the price is worked out by weight, so not asking the price before choosing means a surprise at the end.

Ordering it

Three questions help. What kind of fish it is and what the price per kilo is. Whether the heat can be adjusted — some kitchens ask and cook accordingly. And what comes with it: on the coast the plate usually arrives with rice or bread, lemon and salad. One fish generally feeds two.