Merguez sausages with crispy chickpeas and preserved lemon yogurt

  • Portion size: Serves 4
  • Hands-on time 30 min. Oven time 45 min
  • Difficulty: easy
Head of food, delicious.

Merguez sausages with crispy, roasted chickpeas makes a flavoursome alternative to bangers and mash. Serve with dollops of lemony yogurt.

Next time, try Merguez baguettes stuffed with crispy duck-fat roasties and garlicky aioli. Seriously.

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Ingredients

  • 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to fry
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds, crushed
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scraped out and chopped
  • ½ small onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 8 merguez sausages
  • 1 tbsp rose harissa (optional)
  • Bunch coriander, finely chopped

For the yogurt

  • 300ml greek yogurt
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated
  • 1 preserved lemon, chopped, plus a splash lemon brine
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ½ bunch mint, finely chopped, plus a few leaves to garnish
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Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Put the chickpeas in a large baking dish, ideally all in a single layer, then add the olive oil, spices and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then roast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, cucumber and onion in a sieve and sprinkle with the salt. Toss, then set aside in the sink to drain.
  3. Mix all the yogurt ingredients, then taste for seasoning – you may want to add more salt or preserved lemon brine. Set aside.
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  5. Put a wide frying or griddle pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add the sausages in a single layer and cook, turning regularly, for 15-20 minutes.
  6. Remove the chickpeas from the oven and stir in the harissa (if using). Add the tomatoes, cucumber and onion, sprinkle over the coriander and stir. Serve the sausages with a pile of the chickpea mixture, some yogurt and extra mint leaves.

Nutrition

  • 508kcals Calories
  • 28.9g (13.3g saturated) Fat
  • 30.8g Protein
  • 24g (7.4g sugars) Carbs
  • 14g Fibre
  • 1.7g Salt

Cook smarter

North African merguez are made of lamb and/or beef rather than pork, and heavily spiced with harissa and cumin. Hugely popular in France, they’re available from most good butchers or online in the UK.

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