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Sauce

Almond Chermoula

A North African almond-based sauce made with onion, raisins, saffron, almonds, cilantro, mint, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and lime juice.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Almond Chermoula

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Place the onion, raisins, saffron and half the almonds into a large bowl and set aside.

  2. Puree the remaining almonds, cilantro, mint, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil and lime juice.

  3. Fold the purée into the mixture in the bowl.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

256Calories
3 gProtein
15 gFat
32 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 11 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Saffronnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Peppermintnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Saffron + almondtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together306 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Saffron + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together455 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Olive oil
Carries the herbs and spices, giving the sauce a smooth, rich texture and body.
Cilantro
Provides the fresh, green herbal aroma that defines the sauce.
Raisins
Add sweetness and soft texture that balances the sharp lime and garlic.
Almonds
Add crunch and a nutty, toasted flavour that thickens the texture.

The step that matters

Fold the purée into the mixture gently. Overworking the mixture after blending can break up the texture and turn the sauce pasty, so combine just until evenly mixed.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, saffron, almond, mint, garlic, clove, pepper):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Avocadofits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, saffron, almond, mint, garlic, clove, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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