Moroccan Lamb Sausages & Mezze Friends

Hubby loves lamb, me not so much. But I found this recipe in Saveur that enticed me, so I bought a small lamb roast and thought I'd use the food processor to rough grind the meat. The recipe calls for toasting and grinding spices and includes harissa, which I'd made the previous week. Besides, look at the photo they included. A tasty mezze spread indeed.

Unfortunately, my first batch was a FAIL, tasteless and dry. So I tweaked the traditional recipe, because that's what cooks do. I added ground pork and chuck for fat and flavor, used smoked paprika, and amped up the spices. We also grilled the sausage, which made a world of difference. Oh.my.goodness.

We served the sausages as appetizers -- or mezze -- with whole wheat pita, yogurt with herbs, tapenade, carrot salad, more harissa, (seriously sinful triple cream) goat cheese brie, cucumbers, and heirloom tomatoes. We had leftovers -- only because our friends made the most incredible chicken tagine for the main course -- but this could easily suffice as a summer meal. What was for dessert you ask? Cardamom-infused yogurt with white nectarines and ginger syrup (directions below).

 Moroccan Lamb Sausage

Ingredients
1 lb. ground lamb
1 lb. ground pork
1/3 lb. ground chuck
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. minced flat-leaf parsley
1 t. sweet paprika
2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. coriander seeds
1 t. cumin seeds
1 t. fennel seeds
3 T. harissa

Directions

1. Toast the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds lightly, and grind them into a powder. I used our retired coffee grinder. If you don't have a grinder or mortar and pestle, go ahead and buy powdered spices, but do toast them anyway.
2. Mix the spices, garlic, harissa and parsley into the meat.
3. Divide into 12 patties. Grill on a medium heat, so they are fairly well cooked through, turning to brown on both sides.
4. Serve with suggested mezze fixin's.

Cardamom Yogurt with White Nectarines & Ginger Syrup
Ingredients
32 oz. tub of plain yogurt (organic/non-fat is our preference)
5 pods of cardamom (I used green cardamom)
4 white nectarines (peaches or other stone fruit will do)
3 inch nub of ginger root
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. water

Directions

1. Prepare yogurt:


1. Drain the yogurt in cheesecloth to remove excess liquid, for 2-4 hours.
2. Crush the cardamom in a mortar and pestle or with the back of a spoon, and stir it in the yogurt. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Strain the seeds/pods from the yogurt before servinng.


2. Prepare the ginger syrup:


1. Peel and slice the ginger.
2. Boil ginger with water and sugar for a couple of minutes.
3. Turn heat on low and let simmer until liquid is thick. This won't take long.
4. Remove the ginger and let the liquid cool
5. Store the syrup in a sterilized jar in the cupboard, not the fridge.


3. Prepare dessert:


1. Dollop yogurt in bowl. Mebbe about 1/3 - 1/2 c. person.
2. Top with sliced nectarines.
3. Drizzle ginger syrup on the entirety. To taste. It's powerful, so less is more.
4. You'll want to spread this all over your body and lick it off. Seriously.