Gavin has been busy making Lamb Merguez sausage from local South Downs lamb, as well as Chorizo, Stansted and Plain sausage from Berkshire Black rare-breed pork.
There are now very few places where you get genuine hand-made sausages as it is impossible to do this on any great scale. As a result, you get a proper sausage experience when you try one of Gavin’s sausages, with simple ingredients, mixed and stuffed by hand. While I can recommend them all, I will give a quick mention to the lamb merguez, as my wife cooked a seriously delicious dish that I must share with you.
Merguez Ragout with Poached Eggs
Serves 4
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, small dice
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 pound merguez sausage, sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon ras el hanout,
- 1 teaspoon Spanish sweet smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped coriander, stems included
- 2 tablespoons harissa
- warm crusty bread, for serving
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden. Toss in the garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add the merguez and sauté until almost cooked through
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the Ras el Hanout, Spanish smoked paprika and salt. Stir to combine and cook for a minute to lightly toast the spices. Add the tomatoes. Turn up the heat to medium and cook until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Crack the eggs over the mixture, cover and cook until the whites set, but the yolks are still soft.
- Divide the eggs and ragout among four warm bowls using a large spoon. Top with a sprinkling of coriander and a teaspoon of Harissa.