Intermediate
Moroccan
Chicken Tagine with Olives and Lemon
Source: Traditional
90 min4420 kcal
HalalGluten-freeDairy-free
Merguez
Thin lamb sausages stained deep red with harissa and paprika, grilled hard so the skins split and the fat runs — eaten in bread with more harissa.
Source
Recipe by Tunisian street kitchens · 🏺 Traditional · The counter-and-cart side of Tunisian food — fried to order, eaten standing, and hotter with harissa than any tourist expects.
Maghrebi · Tunisian style — An ownerless traditional dish, so no cook is credited. The cited article confirms merguez as a red, spicy fresh sausage of lamb or beef from North Africa, coloured and flavoured with harissa and paprika. It is shared across the Maghreb; this is the Tunisian style. Quantities and method here are this book's own.
Watch it being made · 3 videos
⏱ 60 min🍽 4 servings🔥 480 kcal🇹🇳 Tunisia🌶️🌶️🌶️
HalalGluten-freeDairy-freeNut-free
Steps
Keep the meat and fat very cold. Mix them with all the seasonings until evenly red, then chill 30 minutes.
Fry a teaspoon of the mixture and taste it. Adjust salt and harissa now — this is your only chance.
💡 Raw mince always tastes under-seasoned in the pan test compared to how it eats grilled. Aim slightly bolder.
Stuff into the casings without packing them tight, and twist into 12 cm lengths.
Prick each sausage two or three times with a pin.
Grill over medium coals or in a hot pan for 10–12 minutes, turning often, until charred outside and just cooked through.
Serve in bread with harissa, or on a plate with mechouia salad alongside.
💡 Tips
- Grill too hot and the fat flares and burns the outside before the middle cooks. Medium coals, patient turning.
- Merguez freezes well raw. Lay them flat on a tray to freeze, then bag them.
- The sausage is shared across the Maghreb — Algerian and Moroccan versions differ mainly in how much harissa goes in.
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