Chermoula

By Martha Rose Shulman

Chermoula
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(419)
Notes
Read community notes

Chermoula is a pungent Moroccan herb sauce traditionally served with grilled fish. I think it’s great with all sorts of other dishes, such as roasted cauliflower, roasted winter squash or chicken. Sometimes I stir a little into a couscous, too.

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Ingredients

Yield:Makes 1 cup, about
  • 2cups cilantro leaves (2 large bunches)
  • 1½cups parsley leaves (1 large bunch)
  • 3 to 4garlic cloves (to taste), halved, green shoots removed
  • ½ to ¾teaspoon salt (to taste)
  • 2teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
  • 1teaspoon sweet paprika
  • ½teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly toasted and ground
  • ⅛teaspoon cayenne (more to taste)
  • ⅓ to ½cup extra virgin olive oil, to taste
  • ¼cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

225 calories; 23 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 2 grams protein; 200 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Coarsely chop the cilantro and parsley. A scissors is a good tool for this; point it tip down in the measuring cup and cut the leaves. Then place them in a food processor and chop very fine, or chop on a cutting board. You should have 1 cup finely chopped herbs.

  2. Step 2

    Place the garlic and salt in a mortar and puree. Add a small handful of the chopped herbs, and gently but firmly grind until the herbs begin to dissolve. Add another handful. When all of the herbs have been mashed, work in the spices, ⅓ cup olive oil and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more olive oil or salt if desired. Serve with grilled fish and/or vegetables, or with chicken.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: This is best when fresh, but you can pour a film of olive oil over the top and keep it for a few days in a jar in the refrigerator. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Ratings

4 out of 5
419 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Ruth S

This is a terrific sauce to keep around. I always make it for grilled salmon, then find I put it on cooked veggies, in quick cups of bouillon, and anything else I can think of. Make up your own spice rainbow. And keep it in the fridge for more than 3 days. Add new spices for a different flavor as the days go on. Keep it bright with more squeezes of lemon juice.

Michelle

Can you freeze this?

Laura G.

I love Martha Rose Shulman's recipes generally but I find her usual garlic directive "green shoots removed" odd. Your garlic should not *have* green shoots! Yes, if they're there you should remove them, b/c they will be bitter, but mostly, you should get fresher garlic.

Snow

Really hate cilantro, tastes soapy to me. Decided use anyway.Totally repelled just washing. Result: I was glad that I used.Mixed with the parsley and other ingredients I found that soapiness to be totally masked. What was left was this luxurious, luscious, pungent sauce. From what I understand is some people carry genes for aversion to cilantro.These genetic markers are located near genes that help determine your sense of smell. Smell masked = really enjoyed bright earthy muskiness of the sauce

jim

Used a mini food processor instead of mortar for the last mixing, and did not have cilantro, so used a combination of parsley, basil and thai basil with great success. Very pleased with the result.

Eating on two Wheels

Since pesto freezes beautifully, I'd expect this to freeze nicely as well.

Nancy from Cali

This sauce is fantastic. We like it best on roasted carrots with feta cheese

Kate D

Great sauce to make in big batches for prawns or chicken, lovely with cous cous or in a salad and really easy

matstomato

This is really good mixed into mayo and used as a dip for artichokes (or on a chicken sandwich).

Jeanne

Try swapping out smoked paprika or do half and half. This is my go to pesto.

hj

Cilantro and parsley should be in equal proportion. Use harissa and ginger in addition to spices mentioned . Add a pinch of saffron . Saffron will tie everything together else it will be just be cilantro dip.

T

I do a version of this where I throw in whole preserved lemons. Absolute bliss.

Tiipiloo

I make this frequently - did not have parsley last night so subbed arugula which made it more peppery but still very good on grilled fish and grilled slabs of zucchini. Will use leftovers to make potato salad with green beans.

Sooz

Next time I'll start with only half the lemon and add more a little at a time, tasting along the way, or add bits of preserved lemon. I found 1/4 cup lemon juice to be too sour.

ginger

definitely try roasted carrots with feta with this

bonnie

Great. Chopped leaves fine, chopped in garlic and salt then chopped in toasted, mortared spices, then mixed in bowl with oil and lemon

Jt

Half batch is all that is needed.

mjjsnell

Has anyone tried using preserved lemon in this recipe?

Brian

You can add serranos or jalapenos to add a little more heat, its great.

Anne

7/30/20: Made in food processor as for pesto (less fussy) - used ground spices not whole seeds - so a bit less - 1 t. cimin, 1/4 coriander. just thssed it all in. super -had on grilled eggplant. Froze 1/2 for another day.

Nikole

I did the same, turned out great. Had on broiled orange roughy along with some lime infused quinoa and it was fantastic.

Adam the Cook

This is great, just great. Due to COVID-19 messing with everything, I could not find parsley. I could find arugula, however, and as the salmon fillets were not going to wait for the produce supply chain to catch up, I used this instead of parsley, following everything else closely. This worked beautifully, and I might just stick with it in the near future when my wife would like me to recreate the meal. The nice balance of the remaining herbs and spices carried the day.

AGJ

The best sauce for grilled fish I have ever made.

PDeCo

I followed as is, but upped the cayenne by a little bit, following the suggestions of others. I found the 1/4 c of lemon juice perfect -- I guess it depends on how sour the lemons are whether it is too much. I used it on two whole sea bass. The recipe made enough just for those two large fish. I'll double it next time and freeze, as I do with pesto.

Ron Nemirow

Following the suggestion of another commenter, I threw everything into a food processor and whirred it for perhaps 3 minutes and it turned out like a really flavorful pesto. No idea if that’s the desired result, but it suited everyone just fine. Next time, I won’t throw in the stems, though, because they were a little crunchy for the consistency. Works well with catfish filets.

Rose Thomas

So good, such a good way to use up extra herbs. I love any chance to use a mortar and pestle--extra fun to watch the herbs sort of disappear. This was great on fish and even better on a side of mashed celery root. Will use the extra to liven up sandwiches and scrambled eggs.

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