Having moved our Travel day to Saturday, slightly disappointed that no one else has been anywhere. This week we decided to go to Luxor in Egypt and to visit The Valley of the Kings and Tutankhamun’s Tomb.

We did actually go there in what seems a life time ago. We went “en famille”, it was a secret holiday for Himself, the kids and I planned it all and he was really upset that he didn’t know what was happening! Being a bit of a control freak ( under statement) , he just couldn’t handle Not Knowing. We started out on the Eurostar to Paris and then onto Luxor , arrived in the dark, but the next morning woke to a view across the Nile onto the Valley of the Kings.

Visiting this region in September, we were told, is not the best time of year, but actually because it is still hot ( and not humid) there were not many tourists at all. Our guide for the seven days we were there, nicknamed Indiana Jones was superb, filling us in on just about everything we needed to know. We flew up to Aswan and then floated down the Nile , and as there were only 15 of us on our boat ( and we were 5) it was a perfect trip.

Not quite the same this time round but we did our best, and of course had an Egyptian dinner ( or maybe Middle Eastern, as they are very much intertwined )

We ate Pan Fried Sea Bass with Harissa and Roses.

For two people you will need:-

1. 4 Sea Bass filets ( or sea bream)
2. 3 tabs Harissa Paste
3. 3 tabs Oilive oil
4. 1 large onion finely chopped
5. 100 mls red wine vinegar
6. 1/2 tsp of each cinnamon and cumin
7. 2 tbsp Honey Or golden syrup if you don’t have honey
8. Handful of currants or sultanas
9. Some chopped coriander
10. 1tsp Ras el Hanout ( a Middle Eastern spice blend which contains Rose Petals) plus decoration
11. 2 tbsp of Rose water
12. Some flour for dusting the fish
13. Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and sauté the onions until soft. Remove from pan, add more oil if needed , dust the fish in the flour and sauté for about 3 minutes on each side. Put to one side. Add the Harissa, vinegar and spices along with 200 mls boiling water, simmer for about 20 minutes to make a thickish sauce.

Add the rose water, most of the Ras El Hanout, honey and currants/ sultanas. Taste and adjust seasoning. Return fish to pan to heat through and serve by spooning the sauce over the fish. Decorate with the coriander and some rose petals from the Ras el Hanout.

Absolutely delicious and I am going to try this with chicken, as I think it will work well.