Chermoula coley fish recipe

Chermoula is a classic taste of Morocco, and again, this reminds me of my childhood when I grew up in Casablanca (not as romantic as the movie suggests!)

Any fish can be used here and normally a whole fish with head and all would be used.  In this case, I’m using a large coley fillet which is similar to cod and this made 3 meals for me.

The herby goodness can also be used raw as a sauce to go with other meats such as ostrich, so don’t worry if you make too much!

Ingredients

• 1 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 3 garlic cloves – chopped
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• Zest and juice from half a lemon
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of crushed chilli flakes 
• 1 cup of coriander/cilantro leaves
• 1 cup of parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup of mint leaves
• Handful of green beans
• Handful of samphire (woody bits at the ends cut off)
• 1 tsp butter

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F)
2. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan. Keep tossing for around 2 minutes until you can smell the fragrance.
3. Crush seeds with the back of a spoon (in a deep bowl to stop them flying around)
4. Use a hand blender to blend the toasted seeds, lemon zest and juice, 2 garlic cloves, oil, salt, chilli until the mixture is smooth
5. Add the parsley, coriander/cilantro and mint and blend.
6. Taste the mixture and add more salt or lemon or herbs as you see fit
7. Line a baking tray with foil and put a little oil to cover the bottom and spread around.
8. Add the fish to the tray and spread the mixture all over the fish. You can also do this earlier in the day or day before so that the marinade can really soak through the fish.
9. Bake for around 15-20 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish.  I use a meat thermometer to check when my food is cooked. Very handy tool!
10. While this is cooking prepare the beans and samphire.  The green beans need to have the ends cut off and place in a microwave safe dish with a bit of water and cover with cling film. Poke a hole in the cling film. This only takes 3-4 mins to cook.
11. Samphire goes beautifully with fish and this will be gently and lightly fried in a frying pan with the tsp of butter and 1 garlic clove that should be chopped already.  This will only take maximum of 5 mins.
12. Once fish is cooked, serve with the beans and samphire and enjoy!