Speaking of cooking shows, I was watching a taped episode of "Chopped", a Food Network production this morning. If you have never seen it, the basic premise is four chefs cook in a series of three rounds, Appetizer, Entree and Dessert from a basket containing some mystery ingredients. These ingredients are the same for all of the chefs but usually one of the ingredients doesn't really "go" with the others. You have to use all the ingredients in the basket, even if it is only a very small amount. You may add to the ingredients from a common pantry. The hard part is trying to make a cohesive and tasty dish that is better than everyone elses dish. The time limitations are extreme. The dishes are judged by a panel of judges and after each round one chef is eliminated or "chopped" as they say. The last man standing becomes the "Chopped Champion" and wins a hefty $10K. Not bad for a days work. I like this program as well as any of the more unscripted ones because it fascinates me (I think in my head what I would do in that situation) but more of the time there is an unusual ingredient that I might not have had. Today was that day.
There was an ingredient in the appetizer round that was called Merguez sausages. Hum. I hadn't heard of them before and was intrigued. After the chefs started cooking one of the judges described them as moroccan sausages usually made with a high percentage of lamb and the rest I believe he said was beef.
Time for research.
I Googled Moroccan sausage because by the time I got to do it, I forgot to write the name down and was doing so by memory. I came up with a few websites of interest.
1) The Gutsy gourmet
http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/af-sausage.html
This one seems a bit unusual to me. The actual sausage is all lamb, has curry powder and a few ingredients like pomegranate juice and currants for some sweetness. I'm not sure about it but it seems like it might be worth a try. I like the idea of the sweet and spicy combination.
2) Food Down Under .com
http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=121736
This one has about a third ground fat and two thirds ground lamb. Might be a bit for my personal palate even if pork fat does rule I don't usually want that high of a fat blend in my food. It would really depend on the fat and of the specific lamb cut involved. This one has cilantro in it (an interesting choice) and also with coriander, cumin and cinnamon. Aside from the fat amount it will be worth a second look.
3)Big Oven
I love this web site, I spend a lot of time with it on my iPod touch. This particular recipe found at http://www.bigoven.com/private/sec/printrecipe.aspx?id=94212
It has the same fat/meat distribution as the one above and gives its credit to a Joyce Goldstein from a newspaper in Minneapolis/St. Paul in an article called "The Mediterranean Kitchen". I think that's my problem with this recipe in general. More of what I would call Mediterranean then what I would call Moroccan.
But wait a minute..... Isn't Morocco in the Mediterranean but on the southern side???
Confused I Googled that. (is Googled a real word? Is it capitalized???) Morocco is in Africa with Algeria on its East and it is south of Spain. The northern most part is near the strait of Gibraltar which divides the Atlantic Ocean on Morocco's west with the Mediterranean Sea which is on its north east side. So that explains some of the crossover. Partly Spanish. Partly north African. Partly Mediterranean. Interesting. Fusion cuisine at its best...
4)This one popped up on the Food Network website: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tori-ritchie/moroccan-lamb-sausage-patties-recipe/index.html
It is all lamb but indicates not too lean. Adds some vinegar and it exchanges the cinnamon for an allspice used here. I might like that a little better but I do like cinnamon in my meat blends. Again something that is worth trying. I didn't recognize Tori Ritchie's name. Back to Google.
She apparently hosts a show called "Ultimate Kitchens" which currently airs on the Fine Living Network. Ooooh. another show to check out.
So here are several options, some of them similar. I will be going to the local farmers market on Thursday for heirloom tomatoes so I can pick up some ground lamb at the supermarket (or if not some lamb and grind my own) and try this, but I might divide the mixtures and try several versions at once. I'll let you know how it goes.
Tomorrow is a long day, I will be working. I will post if I can.
Soon....
DP
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