Homemade Chermoula

We used to always have a selection of ready made spice mixes in our pantry and chermoula - a popular North African marinade was a big favourite at that time. These products though convenient and quite inoffensive, they do lack freshness which is especially important for something like chermoula. It is easy to make your own chermoula at home and the result is a very rewarding one. 

There are many different versions of chermoula around and this is one that I obtained from a shopkeeper at my local Middle Eastern shop.

ingredients;

1/3 cup of chopped coriander leaves

1/3 cup of chopped parsley leaves

4 garlic cloves

3 shallots

2 tsp of cumin powder

1 tsp of coriander powder

1 tsp of chili powder

1 tsp of smoked paprika

1/4 cup of olive oil

juice from half a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Method;

Place all ingredients in a food processor and roughly chop and blend until you get a medium course paste. Alternatively this can be done using a mortar and pestle.