Charmoula is a sauce that’s used in a lot of Moroccan cuisine. Use it to marinage chicken, lamb, fish, etc. It can also be added to a recipe. You can store it in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp chopped preserved lemon rind, rinsed
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp saffron water (see below)

Directions:

Use a quart jar – it makes it easier to shake/mix, plus left-overs can be sealed and refrigerated. Place the salt, both paprikas, cumin and pepper in a jar; shake to combine. Add garlic, parsley, cilantro, lemon rind and lemon juice; give it another shake. Add oil, water, tomatoee puree and saffron water.

Saffron Water:

Crumble 1/2 tsp saffron in a dry, warm (not hot) skillet. Remove threads and place in a jar; crush threads with a pestle. Add 1 cup hot water. Let sit a few minutes. You can either store it in the refrigerator for a week or you can fill ice cube trays, freeze it, remove the cubes and place them in a plastic freezer bag. Each cube will yield about 2 tbsp saffron water.