Thé Merguez Sausage

Yotam Ottolenghi’s merguez keabs.Merguez are long, thin and taste distinctly of North Africa, thanks to the harissa, paprika and other spices with which they’re made. The meat in these wonderful sausages is always either beef or lamb (or a mixture of the two), never pork, and although they’re ubiquitous throughout North Africa and France, they are not always so easy to find over here. If you can’t get hold of any, use the sausage mix in this recipe. It’s coarser and not quite as fatty as classic merguez sausagemeat, but it’s just as heavy in spices and high in heat.

Merguez 

Use this mix to make this sausagemeat which you can use to make either sausages or kebabs.

500g minced lamb (20% fat)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp rose harissa
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp olive oil
80g fresh white breadcrumbs
Salt

Put everything in a large bowl with a teaspoon of salt. Using your hands, mix to combine, then form into eight kebabs about 12cm long x 4cm wide x 2cm thick.

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