Calamar Mchermel

Atlantic Coast·Easy·45 min

Squid rings sautéed in chermoula with peppers and preserved lemon — Casablanca port-side fast food at its best.

Mchermel means 'in chermoula' — the cooking method coats whatever's in the pan with the herb-spice marinade. For Atlantic squid, the rings are cooked just until firm but still tender, with bell peppers for sweetness and preserved lemon for acid. A weekday port-side lunch, served with bread and a slice of beldi tomato.

Squid rings coated in chermoula sauce — the rings soak up the herb-spice marinade while staying tender from a quick, hot cook. Atlantic-coast port-side fast food.

Mchermel ('chermoula-style') means the squid is cooked in a chermoula-seasoned sauce — squid toughens fast with heat, so the rings are cooked quickly and just until firm to stay tender, while the lemon and oil in the marinade coat the squid and let the sauce penetrate.

Variations

Essaouira calamar mchermel uses chermoula; Larache version uses tomato-paprika sauce; Casablanca version uses saffron stuffing — three squid presentations.

On the Palate

Where Calamar Mchermel sits in the Moroccan flavor cloud

Ingredients

800gSquid

squid rings, cleaned

100gChermoula Paste

chermoula paste, marinade

2Bell Pepper

bell peppers, sliced

1Preserved Lemon

preserved lemon, slivered

How it's made

5 steps · 45 min

1
4 min
Clean 800g fresh squid, separate tentacles from bodies, slice bodies into 1cm rings.
2
8 min
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan. Add 2 sliced red bell peppers and 1 sliced onion; sauté 6 minutes until softened.
Watch out
Cook the peppers and onion until they slump and sweeten before the sauce builds — undercooked here and they stay raw-crunchy against the tender squid.
3
5 min
Add 4 tbsp chermoula paste, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 2 chopped tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes.
4
15 min
Add the squid (rings and tentacles); cook over high heat 4-5 minutes, stirring, just until opaque and firm but not rubbery.
Watch out
Pull the squid the second the rings turn opaque and just firm, around 4-5 minutes — one minute past that on high heat and it seizes into rubber bands.
5
3 min
Stir in 1 sliced preserved lemon and chopped cilantro. Adjust salt. Serve immediately with khobz and lemon wedges.

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Taginespecialty

A two-piece earthenware vessel from North Africa: a flat round base and a tall conical lid. The cone is the engine — steam rises into its narrow apex, condenses against cooler clay, and drips back down onto the meat below. With a tablespoon of water at the start, a tagine slow-braises lamb shoulder for 3-4 hours over low charcoal embers, the meat self-basting in its own evaporated juices.

Techniques

Sauteing