Chermoula

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October 2021 View more

By Jaysen Euler

This workhorse sauce can be used on just about anything. Popular in North African and Eastern Mediterranean cuisines and traditionally used as a marinade for fish, chermoula has all the right notes to boost any dish you make. We’ve used this sauce on just about everything from grilled eggplant and roasted carrots to seared halibut and grilled rib eye. Keep some cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds in your pantry and you can build the sauce in various ways with any fresh herbs you may have in your kitchen.

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

½ teaspoon whole cumin seed

1 teaspoon whole coriander seed

½ teaspoon whole fennel seed

1 ounce ginger, peeled

2 lemons, plus zest

1 cup cilantro

1 cup parsley

½ cup mint

½ teaspoon kosher salt 

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1 Lightly toast cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds in a dry sauté pan over medium heat.

2 Add seeds to a food processor with peeled ginger. Pulse seeds and ginger together briefly, for 3 to 5 seconds, until a rough paste forms. Add in lemon juice and zest from 2 lemons.

3 Rough chop the herbs, then add to the food processor with salt and olive oil.

4 Pulse briefly in the food processor for 5 to 10 seconds or until desired consistency is achieved.

5 Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Photo courtesy Vasili’s