The moniker "Silk Roads" doesn't exactly conjure up images of fish. Camel's deserts, noodles, dumplings, fat-tailed sheep: sure. But not fish, not really. And yet, here we are, with a Silk Roads stuffed fish because there are indeed myriad fish-eating traditions between Baku & Beijing.
Among other species, the Caspian Sea teems with sturgeon, beloved not only for their eggs (hello, Grade 1 caviar!), but for their flesh, which Azeris grill and roast. And then there are the carp- and trout filled rivers and lakes of Central Asia from which people have been fishing and eating for thousands of years.
Of course, things are changing, and bodies of water-such as the once-magnificent Aral Sea at the Uzbek-Kazakh border (in it's heyday the fourth largest lake in the world) and Lake Urmia, near my father's hometown (once the largest lake in the Middle East)-are drying up and dying, collateral damage from foolhardy government policies. I digress...
Azeris love to stuff fish with a variety of herbs, walnuts, and sour plums or plum paste, especially for Noruz, the new year. Bukharan Jews begin their Friday Shabbat meals with fried fish fillets topped with tangy cilantro and garlic paste. I have combined these two traditions to give you this: a garlicky, walnutty, cilantro-y stuffed fish (with lemon and pomegranate too). A happy combo of flavours and food cultures that just so happens to also taste amazing. Serve your fish with simple boiled or roasted potatoes and some wilted leafy greens.
Preheat your oven to 475'F (250'c) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick silicone baking sheet.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the cilantro, green onions, garlic, walnuts, and a large pinch of sea salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the cilantro and green onions are fragrant but not burnt.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, pomegranate arils, and molasses. Stir to evenly combine, and set aside.
Pat your fish dry with paper towels, checking for and discarding any errant scales as you do, then place it on your lined baking sheet. Cut three diagonal slits on either side of the fish's body, each about 1in (2.5cm) apart. Don't cut too deeply; you just want a little penetration.
Generously season both the inside and outside of the fish with salt and pepper, then use your hands to pack all the filling into the fish's body cavity. Seal the little dude(s) up, either by tying the fish closed with kitchen twine or by pinning it/them shut with wooden cocktail sticks placed 1 3/4in (4cm) apart.
Drizzle the fish with a bit more olive oil and roast for 25 minutes, or until the fish feels firm and flaky to the touch.
Move your fish to a serving platter and release it from its bondage. Drizzle with additional pomegranate molasses and olive oil, and sprinkle with any extra green onions and/or cilantro you may have, then serve.
