Chermoula is one of my favourite marinades, it’s a blend of coriander (cilantro), garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and spices. A very popular seasoning for grilled meat or fish in Morocco, it’s incredibly flavourful and zingy. Your taste buds will get such a blast! I use it most weeks through the summer as a marinade for white fish. It couldn’t be easier to make, all of the ingredients go into a food processor and get blitzed together to form a slack paste which can be spread onto chicken or fish.
There are many versions of Chermoula, some with onions, some containing harissa or smoked paprika but this I think is the simplest version and I love it! It is so easy to make and use. I usually make it at the weekend and store it in a Tupperware to make a fast dinner during the week. The Chermoulah can also be used as a marinade but I usually just spread it on just before the end of the cooking time to save a little time.
With recent issues about blogging others recipes I must declare that I do not know the origination of this! I have a folder full of recipes torn from magazines, many are years old and its impossible to know where they came from. I have adapted the original recipe but can not give credit to the recipe creator. I will just have to hope you believe me when I say I have no wish to cause offense to anyone when posting a recipe!
Chermoula
- A large bunch of Coriander, rinsed and chopped roughly in half
- Approximately 2 tbsp Flat leaf Parsley, rinsed
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled, chopped in halves
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder (this is quite a hot version, do use less chilli powder for less heat)
- 1tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 1/4 cup, 60 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until blended, stopping to scrape the sides of the processor a couple of times to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- To use, pan fry or grill your fish, firm fish portions are best to avoid breaking up. When the fish is almost cooked spread on the Chermoulah and finish cooking.
I am linking this up with a blog hop called Herbs on Saturday held by Karen at her lovely blog Lavender and Lovage.
#1 by lizthechef on March 11, 2012 - 15:49
I have never heard of this! Larry is not a fan of cilantro but I bet parsley would work…
#2 by Jayne on March 11, 2012 - 18:27
I’m always shocked when people dont like cilantro! It would be very different with parsley, I should try that!
#3 by Wendy Read on March 12, 2012 - 02:52
I love your new blog name!! This looks yummy, we too have a hard time with cilantro, so I would try with flat leaf parsely too 🙂 Thanks so much for the great post Jayne.
#4 by Charlotte Pike on March 13, 2012 - 07:30
What a great recipe Jayne! I love coriander! I also echo Wendy’s thoughts and love your new blog name!!
Charlotte x
@gofreecakes