Chermoula

One of the most delicious fish dishes I ever tasted was a fresh salmon trout, rubbed with an aromatic mixture of chopped onion and garlic, fresh green coriander and parsley, flavoured with undertones of saffron, turmeric, sweet and hot red peppers, and salt. The fish was allowed to ‘marinate’ in this fragrant mixture for 2 hours, then was wrapped loosely in foil and baked in the oven until it was just cooked, its natural taste rounded out by its supporting seasonings to give it an outstanding depth of flavour. This was my first introduction to how wonderfully well the rich flavours of an intrinsically Moroccan cooking technique could work in a western kitchen, with western ingredients and a western cooking method.