Tagine Of Lamb Merguez Sausages Recipes

TAGINE OF LAMB & MERGUEZ SAUSAGES

Steps:

• For the marinade, roast the spices in a dry pan for a couple mins until fragrant. Put remaining marinade ingredients in a blender and process to a smooth paste, then add the roast spices and blend again to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and pour over the marinade. Leave in the paste overnight, or for at least 2 hrs to absorb all the flavours.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. In a large roasting tin, big enough to fit the meat in one single layer, heat the oil and place over a high heat on the hob. Remove the meat from the marinade, wiping off and reserving any excess, then brown shanks on all sides in the hot oil.
• Add remaining marinade to the dish along with the carrots, onions and prunes, then pour in 1 litre water. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook in a low oven for 3½-4 hrs until the meat is tender and falling away from the bone. Add the honey, lemon juice and seasoning and keep warm.
• If using, fry the sausages until cooked through, then add to the tagine. Serve the meat in a large bowl with the sauce spooned over, then scatter with the preserved lemons and mint, and serve the harissa on the side.

LAMB MERGUEZ SAUSAGE PATTIES

Steps:

• Combine salt and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle and pound until fine. Stir cumin, cinnamon, coriander, turmeric, and garlic cloves into the salt mixture and continue grinding to form a thick paste. Stir in harissa sauce and tomato paste until combined.
• Combine ground lamb and the spice paste together with a fork in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Form sausage into patties. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties until no longer pink inside, 5 to 8 minutes per side, depending on the size of the patties.

CHICKEN AND MERGUEZ TAGINE

Steps:

• For the spice mix: In a small bowl, add the cumin, paprika, turmeric, coriander, ginger, cayenne and cinnamon. Stir to combine and set aside.
• For the tagine: Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat until hot, then add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear until browned on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Meanwhile, place a large, family-sized cast-iron tagine on a low heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil plus the spice mix. Cook until the spices have bloomed and the oil is hot, 2 to 3 minutes, then add the carrots and onions and allow them to slightly soften, about 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas, sausage, garlic and seared chicken. Carefully add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Nestle in the olives and preserved lemon, then lower the heat and cover the tagine. Continue cooking over low heat for about 1 hour. Add more chicken broth slowly if needed (see Cook's Note).
• For the couscous: Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl add the couscous, raisins, olive oil, turmeric and salt and mix together.
• Bring the broth to a boil, then add to the couscous until it is covered and the liquid is a little more than 1/2 inch above the couscous. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the liquid is absorbed, preferably in a warm part of the kitchen, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Pour the couscous onto a very large platter. Remove the chicken from the tagine to a work surface. Pour the vegetables from the tagine around the couscous. Put the chicken on top of the vegetables and garnish the whole platter with the toasted almonds and parsley.

MERGUEZ AND BUTTERNUT TAGINE

Steps:

• Wrap the sausage in a coil and place 2 skewers through the sausage to form an X. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat until hot. Brown the sausage, about 3 minutes per side, then transfer the sausage to a plate and remove the skewers.
• Add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Cut the squash into chunks and add to the pot along with the carrots, tomatoes with juice, apricots, 1 cup water, cumin, cinnamon, and some salt and pepper. Add the sausage back to the pot and cover. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve over couscous.

MERGUEZ SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Put the lamb in a mixing bowl and add the ingredients up to and including the minced garlic. Blend the mixture thoroughly by hand. To test the sausage for seasoning, shape a small portion into a patty. Cook the patty in a lightly-oiled skillet and season to taste.
• Shape the mixture into eight equal balls then flatten each into a patty.
• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and add the patties. You may do this in two batches, depending on the skillet size. Cook the patties for 8 minutes, turning when necessary. Drain on paper towels.

MERGUEZ LAMB PATTIES WITH GOLDEN RAISIN COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Toast fennel seeds in a small heavy skillet over medium heat until fragrant and a shade darker, about 1 minute. Grind to a fine powder in grinder.
• Mix together lamb, garlic, harissa, spices (including fennel), and 1/2 teaspoon salt thoroughly with your hands (do not overmix). Form into 4 oval patties (about 3/4 inch thick).
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook patties, turning once, about 9 minutes total for medium-rare.
• While patties cook, bring broth, raisins, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then stir in couscous. Let stand off heat, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; stir in cilantro, zest, and salt to taste.
• Serve patties on couscous.

MERGUEZ (A TUNISIAN SAUSAGE)

Steps:

• Have the meat ground or outfit a meat grinder with the fine blade. Put the meat through the grinder.
• Put the meat into a mixing bowl, and add the garlic, harissa, water, salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly.
• Outfit a sausage machine or a hand grinder with a sausage funnel. Slip the casings onto the funnel. Fill the casings with the ground meat mixture, following the manufacturer's instructions.
• Twist the casings at five- or six-inch intervals to indicate individual sausages. If the casings are not used, individual ''sausages'' can be made by dividing the meat into about 25 portions and shaping each one into a sausagelike shape.
• When ready to cook, heat the oil in a skillet and add the sausages. Cook until lightly browned on one side and turn. Continue cooking, turning as necessary, until cooked through and nicely browned, about six minutes or longer.