WEEK 30 WILDCARD WINNER
Moroccan Merguez Ragout with
Poached Eggs
Photography by Sarah Shatz
BY EPICUREANODYSSEY | SERVES 4
A&M: We ate this for lunch and agreed it was the perfect meal for the middle of the day—or the beginning of the day, or the end of the day. The spicy merguez (you can use hot Italian sausage if you can’t find merguez or chorizo) is bathed in a lush, smoky sauce of tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices; when you cut into the soft eggs on top, poached right in the sauce, the buttery yolk streams into the rest of the dish and enriches the sauce. We found that we didn’t need all of the oil, as the sausage gave off a lot of its own fat, so we just spooned off some of the extra oil before poaching the eggs.
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into small dice
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 pound merguez sausage, cut into ½-inch-thick-slices (see Tips and Techniques for how to make your own)
1 tablespoon ras el hanout (see Tips and Techniques)
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Two 15-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, preferably Muir Glen
8 extra-large eggs
½ cup roughly chopped cilantro, stems included
2 tablespoons harissa (see Tips and Techniques)
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, about 3 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the ras el hanout, 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.
- Spoon the ragout into 4 warm bowls and top each portion with 2 of the eggs, a sprinkling of cilantro, and a teaspoon of harissa.
- Serve immediately with crusty bread.
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
ecswantner: “If you cannot find merguez in your area, use whatever sausage suits your taste, but I particularly like Spanish chorizo. Harissa is a fiery condiment found on most North African tables and is used to spice up dishes to suit your palate. Ras el hanout translates to ‘top of the shop’ and refers to the top combination of spices a Moroccan spice vendor can sell. You can find both harissa and ras el hanout at www.gourmetfoodstore.com, or you can make your own.”
epicureanodyssey noted: “A really fine commercial blend of ras el hanout and smoked paprika can be ordered at wholespice.com.” She also gave this tip for making your own merguez: “Merguez is really easy to make. If you have a few minutes, mix 1 pound ground lamb with ¼ cup finely minced cilantro stems, 1½ tablespoons ras el hanout, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon harissa, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and kosher salt to taste. Roll into sausagelike cylinders, store in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. Voilà, merguez.”
ABOUT THE COOK
Emily C. Swantner is a chef living in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Her favorite cooking tip: “When planning a menu, prepare only one complicated dish. The accompanying recipes can be simple with just a few ingredients or easily made ahead.”
Her favorite entertaining tip: “Keep a well-stocked pantry, meaning the cupboard, freezer, and refrigerator, as it makes spur-of-the-moment entertaining easy.”
WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID
nasreenSeattle: “I fell in love with the recipe the first time I read it and I knew I had to make it right away. I bought merguez at Uli’s and spices from Pike Place Market here in Seattle. This recipe is quick, easy, and delicious, and also a real crowd pleaser. The recipe can be scaled up pretty easily if the eggs are poached separately and then served over the ragout. Served this with a baguette and white wine with Looza apricot nectar.”
ChezSuzanne: “I made this wonderful recipe this week and it was a big hit at my house. The great thing for me, besides the wonderful blend of flavors, was that I put it together in about 30 minutes!”