Skewered Chicken with Chermoula Sauce

Chermoula, a blend of North African spices, is the ideal accompaniment for chicken.  This sauce is very quick and easy to make.  Its also a great marinade for skewered lamb or grilled lamb chops.

Serve with cous-cous or quinoa with chopped, dried apricots, finely chopped mint and chopped almonds.

For the Sauce

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp tomato puree
2 tbsp olive oil

Roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a frying pan for a couple of minutes until fragrant then grind them with a pestle and mortar.

Place the crushed spices and the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with blender running. Chermoula can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

For the chicken skewers

500g chicken breast cut into pieces and threaded onto skewers.

Brush the chicken skewers with some of the sauce then grill for 5 minutes, turning frequently until the meat is slightly charred and cooked through