Moroccan · Marinades & Rubs
Charmoula Fish Marinade
While chermoula often refers to the finished sauce spooned over cooked fish, this version is built specifically as a marinade — thinner and more acidic, meant to sit on raw fish for 20 minutes to an hour before grilling or frying.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- Large bunch coriander and parsley
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 80 ml olive oil
- Salt
Method
- 1
Blend
Blend the herbs, garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne, lemon juice, olive oil and salt into a loose, pourable marinade — thinner than a finished sauce.
- 2
Marinate
Pour over raw fish and let it sit for 20 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge, turning once.
- 3
Cook
Grill, fry or bake the marinated fish as desired, discarding the excess raw marinade.
Chef's tips
- Don't marinate fish in this mixture for much longer than an hour — the lemon juice can start to firm up the flesh, similar to ceviche.
- Keep this version thinner than a finishing sauce so it coats the fish evenly for marinating.
Frequently asked questions
Can I reuse the marinade as a sauce after cooking?
Only if it hasn't touched raw fish — for food safety, make a separate fresh batch to serve alongside if you want a sauce for the table.