Chermoula is a green, garlicky, zesty marinade recipe. With a select blend of subtle spices and other ingredients, chermoula brings a unique taste and aroma. It works best when used as a marinade for fish, but you can also use it with meat and vegetables. Chermoula is not just for marinating though. It doesn’t need to be cooked – one other way to use it is as a finishing touch to meat, fish and vegetable dishes.

What is chermoula made of?

Chermoula is typically made using coriander/cilantro leaves, cilantro/coriander seeds, garlic cloves (garlic powder can also be used) fresh lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, ground cumin seeds, paprika and a mixture of other herbs like parsley and mint. When using whole seeds of cumin, it’s best to heat and toast them in a skillet first. Once they’ve been toasted for a minute or two, you can grind them easily with a mortar and pestle. Aside from a mortar and pestle, you can also use the K-Mojo DigiMaster for this recipe and other spice mixes. The grinding function is perfect for making a quick fragrant spice mix.

What can I use instead of chermoula spice?

If you don’t mind the heat, you can substitute chermoula spices with harissa paste. Both are from North Africa and use similar spices, although harissa sauce is considerably hotter. When it comes to the unique blend of spices, chermoula sauce is pretty hard to replicate. As long as you can get most of the ingredients on this list, your sauce will add such an incredible depth of flavor to fish, meat and vegetables. If you want to make a particularly spicy chermoula sauce, add a teaspoon of harissa paste and half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the recipe.

What are the origins of chermoula?

The roots of chermoula can be traced to North Africa. It is said to have been created in Morocco and then spread east to Tunisia and Algeria. In Morocco and other North African countries, it’s very popular to make a spice mixture or a spicy sauce for fish, chicken, lamb and other meats before it’s roasted, to give it a delicious flavor and texture.

Can you freeze chermoula?

Freezing chermoula is easy. All you need to do is lightly grease an ice cube tray and spoon chermoula into each cube compartment. When you’re ready to use it, just defrost in the fridge overnight. Chermoula freezes well for around 3 months. After 3 months it’ll still taste fine, but will have lost a large part of its delicious flavor. After 6 months it’ll be no good.

Is chermoula always green?

Due to the coriander/cilantro and parsley, chermoula normally has a green appearance. This can be off-putting for some people who can’t stand deep green sauce recipes. As Kermit used to say, it’s not easy being green. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like the idea of a green sauce recipe on your steak, chicken, lamb or fish, there are a couple of things you can do. You can make red chermoula by adding a tablespoon of tomato puree to the mix. You could also add a teaspoon of turmeric, for a yellow chermoula.

What are preserved lemons?

A secret ingredient in Moroccan and Tunisian cooking, preserved lemons are a key part of many traditional North African dishes. In fact, Moroccan cooks use it as they would other condiments. By salting the lemons and keeping them stored in an airtight container for a long time – at least a month – each lemon loses its sharp acidity and instead becomes sweet. This great way of changing the flavor of lemon will make you change the way you think about this zesty little fruit. Want to let in on this piece of Moroccan magic? Here’s my recipe .

Chermoula

Description

Chermoula Sauce is a Moroccan recipe that takes mere minutes to prepare. Place cilantro, parsley, garlic, olive oil and spices in a blender and blitz. Use as a marinade or as a sauce for meat, fish or vegetables.

Ingredients

Units Scale

300g (3 cups) fresh coriander/cilantro
100g (1 cup) flat leaf parsley, leaves only
8 garlic cloves, peeled
5g (1 tbsp) dried cumin
5g (1 tbsp) sweet paprika
60ml (4 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
2g (1 tsp) salt
1 whole (or 10 slices) preserved lemon

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in your K-Mojo DigiMaster's chopper attachment.
Give the ingredients a blitz. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of water to loosen it up.
Use as a marinade for out of this world’s lamb chops or as a refreshing sauce with vegetables or grilled fish.

Notes

Add 15ml (1 tbsp) of tomato puree if you want to have red chermoula.
Add 5ml (1 tsp) of ground turmeric for yellow chermoula.
If you want to spice it up, add 5ml (1 tsp) of harissa paste.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Category: Sauce
Method: Blend
Cuisine: Moroccan

Nutrition

Serving Size: A spoonful or two
Calories: 114
Sugar: 1.1 g
Sodium: 164.5 mg
Fat: 10.2 g
Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 6.3 g
Fiber: 2.8 g
Protein: 2.2 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg