An easy fish dish full of the haunting flavors of saffron, preserved lemon, and sweet paprika.

I remember eating at Joyce Goldstein’s game-changing Square One restaurant in San Francisco.

My best friend and I had saved up our money to dine there, having heard how Goldstein was pushing the envelope of Mediterranean cuisine, which back then was largely relegated to Italian fare. Instead, she expanded greatly upon that, serving up the flavors of Morocco, Turkey, and beyond.

The restaurant did not disappoint. The earthy spices were new to my palate then, and thoroughly captivated me.

So when I received a review copy of her newest cookbook, “The New Mediterranean Jewish Table: Old World Recipes for the Modern Home” (University of California Press), I got doubly excited when I spied a recipe for “Fish with Charmoula.”

As Goldstein writes in the book, quite a few diners at Square One took to calling her the “Queen of Charmoula” because this signature fish dish was often on the menu.

Read more