Hout M'charmel is the dish of Tangier, the city that faces two seas the Atlantic to the west, the Mediterranean to the east - and has been a fishing port since Phoenician times. The word chermoula refers both to the marinade and to the slow-braised cooking method, and every Tangier family has its own version: some add raisins, some capers, some a pinch of saffron. The dish is traditionally made on the day a fishing boat returns to port, when the catch is freshest. There is a Tangier saying: 'A fish cooked in chermoula is a fish twice blessed - once by the sea, once by the cook.' The preserved lemon that perfumes the dish is a Moroccan specialty unknown to most of the Mediterranean; it gives the chermoula its distinctive floral-citrus note. Tangier families serve this tagine on Friday, the day of prayer and family gathering, with the entire extended family around one large tagine placed at the center of the table.
Original traditionstewTanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma
Hout M'charmel (Fish in Chermoula)
Tangier's signature fish tagine: white fish braised in a fragrant chermoula of garlic, cumin, coriander, and preserved lemon, with sliced potatoes and peppers.
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Hout M'charmel (Fish in Chermoula) belongs to the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma table. Taste it where its Andalusian-Moroccan heritage kitchen tradition lives, or fold it into an itinerary through the region.
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