Merguez with Spicy Chickpeas

August 22, 2007

There was a time when sausages were pale, smooth and rubbery and, no matter what flavour they were labelled with, they all seemed to taste pretty much the same. They definitely needed something to ginger them up a bit.

Home cooks from earlier generations did their best. Many of us will remember curried sausages, the bright yellow gravy studded with chunks of carrot and maybe even peas. Or devilled sausages nestling in a sauce that included sliced apples and raisins.

Meat seemed to be rather low on the list of ingredients and no doubt those post-War sausages contributed a lot to the success of commercially made tomato sauce because it was the sauce that made them edible.

Fortunately times have changed. Today we are spoilt for choice as the sausages have become meatier, chunkier and available in many more flavours.

There are myriad different types of fresh sausages throughout the world, the seasoning varying with the availability of local herbs and spices. One that is increasingly appearing in meat cabinets and on restaurant menus is the merguez, a small lamb sausage that originated in Tunisia and which is flavoured with harissa, a paste made of chillies and assorted spices.

I found some lamb merguez at my local farmers' market last weekend at the Gypsy Pig stall. Legumes and a tasty sauce generally go well with a good meaty sausage and these little beauties responded to the treatment.

If you can’t find merguez at you local butchery, you can substitute fresh chorizo or other well-spiced sausages.

Ras el Hanout is a North African spice blend and you can buy it readymade in the specialty spice section of delicatessens and many supermarkets.

Merguez with Spicy Chickpeas

750g merguez
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
2 cans chickpeas
4 medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 preserved lemon (optional but worth including)
mint

Grill or panfry the merguez, discarding any fat that is exuded. Cut the sausages into chunks.

Heat the oil in a high-sided pan and sauté the onion and garlic over a gentle heat until tender, making sure the garlic does not burn. Stir in the Ras el Hanout, cook a further minute then add the fresh tomatoes and sauté a further 3-4 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes. Remove the pulp from the preserved lemon and discard. Slice the remaining lemon and add to the pan along with the drained, rinsed chickpeas. Simmer for 15 minutes then add the sliced sausage and continue cooking for a further 7-8 minutes until the sausage is heated through. Garnish with chopped mint.

I also bought some bitter greens at the market, which I washed, dried, sliced, then stir-fried in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with a little garlic and some dried chilli flakes. I cooked them till they were heated through but and still bright green and served them with the sausages.

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