If you want to know the absolute best way to inject massive amounts of flavor into a cheap protein without marinating it for 24 hours, the answer is Chermoula. It is a loud, aggressive, highly acidic Moroccan herb paste that acts like a marinade, a sauce, and a dressing all at once.

My grandmother used to pound this out in a mortar and pestle. I use a food processor because I have places to be. This entire meal goes from raw ingredients to plating in 15 minutes, and it hits so hard you will never eat plain grilled chicken again.

The Golden Rule of Chermoula

Do not cook the sauce. If you throw the Chermoula into a hot pan and fry it, the fresh cilantro and parsley turn brown, the garlic gets bitter, and the sharp lemon juice cooks off. You sear the meat naked, and you toss it in the raw sauce off the heat. That preserves the bright, shocking freshness of the herbs.

The Build

  • 1 lb Chicken Breast: Slice it into very thin strips. Thin strips cook entirely in 6 minutes.
  • 1 Cup Fresh Cilantro & 1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley: Stems included. The stems have more flavor than the leaves anyway.
  • 3 Cloves Garlic: Raw. Don't be afraid of it.
  • 1 tsp Cumin & 1 tsp Sweet Paprika: The backbone.
  • Juice of 1 Lemon: Do not use the plastic squeeze bottle. Buy a lemon.
  • 1/4 Cup Olive Oil: The binder.

The 15-Minute Execution

  1. Throw the cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin, paprika, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor or a blender. Pulse it until it forms a rough, bright green paste. It shouldn't be totally smooth like a smoothie; you want some texture. Put it in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
  2. Season the chicken strips with salt and a little neutral oil.
  3. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Wait until it's smoking.
  4. Drop the chicken strips in. Spread them out so they sear instead of steam. Leave them alone for 3 minutes to build a crust. Flip them and cook for 3 more minutes.
  5. Pull the skillet entirely off the heat. Use tongs to transfer the hot, seared chicken directly into the bowl of raw Chermoula.
  6. Toss it vigorously. The residual heat from the chicken will slightly warm the garlic and release the essential oils in the herbs without cooking them to death.

The chicken instantly absorbs the intense acidity and earthy spices. Serve it with some flatbread and a dollop of Greek yogurt. It's aggressively good, and it took zero planning.