Chermoula – The Most Delicious Sauce You’ve Never Tasted – Recipe
Chermoula sauce (served on a vegetable tagine and couscous)
I hereby nominate chermoula as the “it” sauce for 2010. (I’m pretty sure last year it was chimichurri, and of course we all remember the pesto riots of 1986, and aioli threatening to flood Central Park in 2001.)
Chermoula is typically used as a marinade for fish in its North African home territory, but it can also be used as a stuffing or sauce. I served it with a simple harissa-spiked tagine of butternut squash and potatoes with chickpeas, over fluffy couscous.
If you look around the web, you’ll see there are any number of variations of chermoula. Some use only cilantro while others include parsley. Some use preserved lemon, while others prefer just the fresh juice. I got a little crazy and added smoked paprika instead of plain, and a bit of fresh ginger (some recipes call for dried, most none at all). You should feel free to adapt it to your mood and what you have on hand.
Chermoula is one of these great sauces that require you to do nothing more than put all the ingredients in a mini-food processor and buzz them until you reach the desired consistency, which should be still a little rough, not fully pureed. Five minutes of work. It will taste even better if you make it an hour or so in advance to let the flavors develop.
Of course if you want to be more traditional, you can go at your chermoula in a mortar and pestle. (The standard move in this case is to claim that the result is incomparably better than anything made with a motor – it might even be true.)
Chermoula Sauce
Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-Free
Yields about 3/4 cup
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: none!
- 1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and tender stems only, well washed
- 1 handful flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin power
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
- big pinch of saffron
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon or 1/2 of a preserved lemon, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Combine all ingredients in a mini-food processor, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle. Process until a thick, moderately rough sauce is formed.
Looking forward to trying this!
how do you make vegetarian tangine thanks Michelle
I’d never heard of this before but it looks and sounds great. I’ll have to try it. Thanks!
The moment this blog loaded, the first word that came out of my mouth is “Wow!”. Well I guess, you know already why I did say that. It really looks brilliantly delicious.
Sounds good! I am also addicted to smoked paprika, it is amazing! 🙂
this looks pretty similar to Indian coriander chutney!
I have to say, it’s quite true that if you grind your spices or paste in mortar & pestle, it tastes somehow a lot better than using a food processor. Till this day, my mom still grinds her spices with it. However sometimes she does uses food processor when she is pressed for time.
Love that stuff, could eat it with a spoon!
Must love a recipe that’s simple to make yet looks so vibrant and delicious. Can’t wait to try!
It has my vote for a top sauce indeed! You had me at fresh chopped cilantro!
Bonne appetite!
CCR
=:~)
Hey Esha – I could see why you would think that based on reading the ingredients, but the actual taste is totally different. More of a Mediterranean flavor instead of the pure herbal taste of coriander chutney. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
I really like what you did to kick up an otherwise so-so sauce, Michael. The smoked paprika, the ginger and the chile flakes in particular. I could slather this on my mailbox and it would taste good!
This sauce sounds fascinating. I wish I could immediately taste it from the screen, but I guess I’ll have to make it for myself 8).
Oooh! I am so glad you wrote about this!
The sauce looks fantastic, can’t wait to try!!!!
Yes, how do you make the tagine?!
Basically I just braised the vegetables and pre-cooked chickpeas with harissa and preserved lemon… next time I make something like that I'll write out a recipe.
Thanks,
Michael
Tried this for the first time today,and so followed the recipe precisely.
Sauce of the year?
But worth doing again?-probably.
Hi,
I made this tonight, and you’re right, I’ve never tried this sauce before so I have nothing to compare it with. What exactly does it taste like? What’s the most dominant flavour (e.g. cumin, parsely etc).
Also, does it taste better the following day?
Thanks,
AZ
Hey AZ – I'd say that all of the flavors should come through in balance. In particular, I want to be able to taste that metallic twang of the saffron in the mix with all of the herbaceous flavors.
Love the sauce, but want to make the veggies to go with it. I’m trying to follow your post above, but not sure how to interpret what you wrote. Did you braise the veggies and cook the chickpeas separately? Or throw the pre-cooked chick peas in with the raw veggies and lemon? How did you make your harissa?
Hey Wendy – honestly, it has been so long I don't remember exactly how I made that tagine, but you could do something like this:Â https://herbivoracious.com//2008/01/couscous-with-s.html and use the chermoula instead of the yogurt sauce.
I love this tossed with roasted root vegetables! And, hailing from the South, I sometimes toss with luscious sweet potato only! It’s hard to come for air….; )
chermoula? i think, i wanna try this recipe now. i see the photo are very interested
thank you for your share
I was wondering if it was possible to pre make this sauce to use 2/3 days later? I would like to use It over Christmas but would not be able to prepare it at that time.
That should be ok; just put it in a container and maybe cover it with a thin layer of oil and then plastic wrap to minimize oxidation so the color stays nice. Store in the refrigerator of course.