Sausage (14 page)
Authors: Victoria Wise
To serve, arrange the lemon slices across the top and pour the olive oil over all. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
This lamb, green bean, and tomato soup-stew, known as
fasoulia
in the home of my childhood, was the by-product of a regular event: my father dissecting a leg of lamb into its parts, from the most highly treasured, neatly cubed pieces for shish kebab to the fattier but still tender parts for grinding into sausage. A sidebar of the ritual was putting the bone and all the gristly bits into a pot, covering them with water, and gently simmering them into a broth for
fasoulia
. Even though the dish was a by-product of making shish kebab, it enjoyed a humble stature on our dinner table.
These days when I desire a taste of lamb home cooking and am not deconstructing a leg of lamb, I use a bit of purchased ground lamb for meatballs. The green beans are key here, and though I usually turn up my nose at frozen vegetables, I make an exception for
fasoulia
, so that it can be enjoyed throughout the year. I find this soup-stew doesn’t need anything in the way of a side dish. A slice of bread, a spoon, and family company suffice, but Armenians would include pilaf on the side.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Meatballs
¾ cup medium- or fine-grind bulgur
½ cup water
½ pound ground lamb
1 small yellow or white onion, minced
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
Small pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Soup
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow or white onion or leek, thinly sliced
2 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 large fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped, or 2 cups canned whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound green beans, stemmed and left whole if small or cut into 1-inch lengths if large
3 cups water
Baguette, warmed and sliced, for serving
To make the sausage, combine the bulgur and water in a large bowl and let soak until the bulgur is slightly softened, about 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and beat with an electric mixer on high speed or process in a food processor until the mixture is smooth and pasty, about 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 1 hour or up to several hours.
To make the soup, form the sausage into ¾-inch balls. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the meatballs and brown all around, 3 to 4 minutes, transferring them to a plate as they are ready.
When all the meatballs are browned, stir the onion and garlic into the fat remaining in the pot and sauté briefly over medium-high until the onion is wilted. Return the meatballs to the pot, add the tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt, tomato paste, green beans, and water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, cover, and cook until the tomatoes are soft and the green beans are completely tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before serving with the baguette slices on the side.
Although I’ve never been to Singapore, preparing this dish leads me there in fantasy. Heady with the fragrance and the flavors of India and Malaysia—cumin, fennel seeds, curry powder—and punctuated with coconut milk and almond, it parlays into a perfect balance of hot, sweet, salty, and sour. The touch of fresh lime juice for the sour element points toward the Southeast Asian contribution in a crossroads cuisine that translates smoothly to American kitchens.
SERVES 4
Meatballs
1 pound ground lamb
½ cup cooked chickpeas, mashed with the back of a fork
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
20 whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted
Curry
2 teaspoons peanut or canola oil
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ yellow or white onion, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon hot or mild curry powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3½ cups unsweetened coconut milk (two 14-ounce cans)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
12 fresh cilantro sprigs, leaves and tender stems only
Steamed basmati rice
, for serving
To make the meatballs, place the lamb, chickpeas, cumin, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture into 20 portions and roll each into a ball. Press an almond into the center of each ball and pat to close the opening. Set aside at room temperature for up to 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate for up to overnight.
To make the curry, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the meatballs and brown all around, about 5 minutes, transferring them to a plate as they are ready. Set aside.
Add the fennel seeds to the fat remaining in the pan and sauté over medium-high heat until barely beginning to turn golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the onion and ginger and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and salt and stir to mix. Stir in the coconut milk, whisking to smooth, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the meatballs and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the liquid has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the cilantro sprigs. Serve with the rice in a separate bowl on the side.
Turkish-Style Lamb Sausage with Fig and Fennel Seed Marmalade
Lamb sausage spiked with pine nuts and raisins, masterful fare from Turkey found around the Mediterranean, is exactly right for a summer grill party. The figs and fennel practically insist on being combined into a marmalade to accompany the lusty sausage. It can also be used as a compote for pork or chicken dishes or as a topping for toast or scones. If you happen to have a fig tree, or know someone who does, use its leaves to wrap the sausage. They impart an aroma and flavor of cinnamon that greatly enhances the lamb and evokes the Garden of Eden, after the Fall.
SERVES 4
Marmalade
6 plump, firm figs
½ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Sausage
1½ tablespoons butter
½ cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1½ pounds ground lamb
¾ teaspoon minced jalapeño chile
1 large clove garlic
1½ teaspoons finely chopped orange zest
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil, if cooking on the stove top
Steamed rice
, for serving
To make the marmalade, cut the figs into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place them in a large microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan, add the sugar, and toss to coat. Set aside to macerate for 30 minutes or so. Add the fennel seeds and lemon juice and toss to mix. Microwave, stirring two or three times, or cook over medium heat until the juices are bubbling up and are thick enough to coat a spoon, about 15 minutes in the microwave or about 20 minutes on the stove top. Use right away, or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.
To make the sausage, melt the butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the raisins and pine nuts and sauté until the raisins are plumped up and the pine nuts are lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool. Add the remaining ingredients to the cooled raisins and nuts, and knead lightly with your hands until thoroughly blended. Form into ovals about 3 inches long, 1½ inches wide, and ½ inch thick. Use right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
When ready to cook, prepare a medium-hot grill, or film a large, heavy skillet with oil and place over medium heat.
Place the sausages on the grill directly over the heat source, or in the skillet. Cook, turning twice, until medium-rare, 15 to 20 minutes total, or until as done as you like.
Serve the sausages with the marmalade and steamed rice on the side.
When chorizo crossed the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain to North Africa, the meat of it, pork, was swapped for lamb. The mostly Muslim North Africans don’t eat pork. The feisty essence of chorizo was not lost in the translation, however: the seasonings remained pretty much the same, with regional and personal variations, as always. A touch of cinnamon here, dried whole red chiles instead of milder ground paprika, maybe some cumin, maybe not, and always garlic. On either side of the straits, it’s a vivacious sausage to use in dishes that want definite sausage input. Here is the lamb version called
merguez
; for the pork version, see the recipe for
Chorizo
.
MAKES 1½ POUNDS
1½ pounds fatty ground lamb, not too finely ground
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
Scant ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup water
Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Leave in bulk and shape as directed in individual recipes or stuff into sheep casing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight, to firm and blend the flavors.
Sauté or grill, or cook as directed in individual recipes. (The uncooked sausage will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.)
Harissa
Tagine is the signature dish,
harissa
is the signature hot condiment, and
merguez
is the signature spicy sausage of North Africa. Quince would be more usual for the fruit, but they are only fleetingly available in late fall, and the stew is quite divine throughout the year. So, I use apples, available all the time. Couscous, the signature tiny-bead pasta of North Africa that fluffs up in a hot-water soak without further cooking, is the accompaniment, the bed, in any variation.
SERVES 4
Harissa
2 red jalapeño chiles or ¼ red bell pepper
2 large dried chiles, preferably ancho or New Mexico
2 dried cayenne chiles
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon caraway seeds
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Tagine
2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1½ pounds
Merguez
, formed into 1-inch balls
1 yellow or white onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 turnip, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
¾ teaspoon powdered ginger
Seeds from 1 cardamom pod
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1-inch piece thin cinnamon stick
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 sweet-tart apples, such as Granny Smiths, pippin, or Fuji (see
On Cooking Apples
), unpeeled, halved, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
½ cup water
Couscous
3 tablespoons butter
⅓ cup raisins
2 cups couscous
½ cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
To make the
harissa
, roast the jalapeño chiles or red bell pepper under a preheated broiler or over a gas burner, turning as needed to color evenly, until soft and the skin is charred and blistered. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then peel and seed them.