Charmoula is the New Pesto

When we sat down to meal plan at the end of last week, Dan & I realized it had been awhile since we'd had salmon. To remedy that situation, I pulled out some cookbooks and searched for salmon recipes. When I opened up The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, I found a recipe for steamed salmon with 'Charmoula'. I'd never heard of it before, but the sidebar in the cookbook describes Charmoula as a classic Moroccan preparation that can be used as a marinade or a sauce and is commonly served with fish.

After marinading the salmon in it overnight, and then slathering the steamed salmon in it, I describe Charmoula as 'delicious'. It has intensity from the spices and garlic, with a freshness from the cilantro and parsley, and a brightness from the lemon juice - all in an almost creamy emulsion courtesy of the olive oil. I plan to put it on everything from now on. It's totally the new pesto.

Steamed Salmon with Charmoula
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup firmly packed fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tspn paprika
3/4 tspn ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 6oz Salmon fillets, skin removed
Salt

Turn on your food processor and add the garlic cloves, one at a time until finely minced. Then add the cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, 1 tspn salt, paprika, cumin and cayenne and puree until smooth. Slowly add the oil, processing until smooth and emulsified. Measure out 3 Tbspn of the sauce and reserve. Put the remaining sauce in a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Put the salmon on a platter and rub both sides of the fish with the 3 Tbspn sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove the fish and the remaining sauce from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Pour water to a depth of 1 inch in a large steamer and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Set a steamer rack or other large, round rack over the simmering water. Arrange the salmon fillets on a heatproof plate, place the plate on the rack, cover tightly, and steam until the fish is firm to the touch and is barely opaque when tested with a knife, about 8 minutes. Transfer the fish to warmed individual plates and top each fillet with a generous spoonful of the charmoula sauce. Pass the remaining sauce at the table.

(We ended up with extra sauce, so I poured it in a little silicone cupcake liner and popped it in the freezer to harden, after which I'll put it in a plastic bag. That way, I can defrost my Charmoula and have it whenever I want.)