March is easily the hardest month, to my mind: Winter storms may yet bring harsh weather, just as our spirits begin to yearn for longer, warmer days. Cold and weary, we look eagerly now for the early noses of daffodils and crocus to poke through the last of the snow. Spring must surely come soon, we think.
My solution to a snow-stunned palate is to dapple my March menus with meals bright with herbs and still-seasonal citrus, dishes sturdy enough to nourish a winter-worn body but colorful enough to fill my eye with the hues of the season I hunger for.
This hearty fish and vegetable stew fills the need quite handily. Its complex, layered flavors draw on Morocco's fascinating court cuisine, but only a couple of ingredients may not be in your pantry already. In Morocco, a tagine of fish would be served over a bed of couscous, and you certainly can serve this stew that way. In my kitchen, though, it tends to come out more as a stew, eaten from a big bowl, and yes, please, I'll help myself to seconds.
Chermoula is what the Moroccans call the fragrant sauce that often accompanies fish. In a thicker variant, it might be used to stuff a whole roasted fish; loosened with a generous pour of olive oil, as here, it becomes a condiment much like Argentine chimichurri or Yemeni zhug.
Use it with any firm white fish that's reasonably priced; I don't care for basa (swai) or tilapia, two farm-raised fish that come from Indochina, most frequently, but if you like them, they'd work here as well.
