A Squared: What's for Dinner Wednesday: Charmoula

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

What's for Dinner Wednesday: Charmoula

I love experimenting in the kitchen and  trying new recipes and the one I am sharing today is definitely outside of my cooking comfort zone. And it was delicious.

Knowing that I love to cook, when I was engaged my mom decided to host a cooking-themed bridal shower for me. All of the guests were invited to bring and share one of their favorite recipes with me. The majority obliged and I left my shower with a stack of very diverse recipe cards that I have been test driving ever since. I was combing through my recipe box recently and came across this recipe for charmoula that my Aunt Pam shared at my shower and honestly, I had no idea what it was and I had to Google it. Once I did though, I knew that Alex and I would love it!

Charmoula is a sauce or marinade "used in Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking. It is usually used to flavor fish or seafood, but it can be used on other meats or vegetables." It's easy to whip up-- it's a no-cook sauce almost like a pesto, with a variety of herbs and olive oil going straight into a food processor and pulsed until smooth. The flavor is intense and packed with boldly flavored fresh herbs. Aunt Pam suggested to serve the sauce over clams, salmon, or other seafood along with pasta and roasted tomatoes. We opted for shrimp and scallops and it was a perfect summer dinner.




Ingredients:
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 6 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbs. tomato paste
For serving--
  • Cooked angel hair pasta
  • Seafood of your choice *I had shrimp and Alex had scallops. Aunt Pam suggested clams or salmon.
  • Roasted grape tomatoes **See below for cooking instructions

Combine all above ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. This can be made in advance and stored (covered) in the refrigerator for a few days before serving.

We used this as a sauce, but it can also be used as a marinade for your fish as well.

Plate hot cooked pasta and top with cooked seafood of your choice. Add roasted tomatoes and drizzle with charmoula. Serve immediately.

**For the tomatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow baking dish or pan, toss 1 cup grape tomatoes with 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes begin to burst, about 20 minutes.

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