Chermoula is a North African paste of herbs, spices, and oil that’s used as a marinade for meats, fish, and poultry. It’s also used as a dipping sauce. How the sauce is made varies from region to region – and this isn’t a particularly authentic version of any of them. It’s an amalgam that captures the base flavor using ingredients you can probably get at your local grocery store.
You could opt to use this in a skewer type preparation, using boneless thighs, but I really like the way bone in, skin on chicken absorbs the flavors from the marinade and develops in the oven or the grill. I love this dish straight out of the oven, with the juices sopped up by a pile of good couscous.
Chermoula Marinated Chicken Thighs
Course: MainCuisine: North AfricanDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes40
minutesChicken thighs marinated in a north African spice and herb mixture.
Ingredients
- Chermoula
2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves and stems
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves and stems
½ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 serrano pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
- Chicken
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
½ recipe chermoula (above)
Directions
- Chermoula Marinade and Sauce
- Coarsely chop the parsley and cilantro.
- Trim and coarsely chop the garlic.
- Remove the stem and coarsely chop the serrano.
- Add all ingredients to the container of a blender or food processor and pulse until a paste has formed.
- Chicken
- Add the chicken and ½ the chermoula to a zip top bag, massaging the bag to ensure even coating of the chicken.
- Allow to rest, refrigerated at least 8 and up to 48 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350° F.
- Arrange the thighs on a rack atop a sheet pan and roast until browned and the internal temperature reaches 165° F.
- Serve with couscous and top with the reserved Chermoula.