12 Oct merquez sausage salad

Is there a better comfort than a sizzling sausage for supper? This week, I’m offering a Mediterranean take on our sausage and carbs with my Merquez sausage and butter bean salad. Merquez sausages are usually made from lamb or beef, spiced with paprika and garlic. I buy mine at the butcher counter of Fallon & Byrne in Dublin. I’ve also gone for a classic sausage and mash recipe this week, with my quick caramelized red onion recipe to top it all off. If meat isn’t your thing, your favourite vegetarian or vegan sausage substitute will sit quite happily within these recipes.

Merquez Sausage with Butter Beans

Serves 2

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 to 4 merquez sausages

1 x 400ml tin of butter beans

10 cherry tomatoes

1 preserved lemon

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped mint

Salt

Pepper

Method

1. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the sausages for ten to fifteen minutes, until browned and sizzling.

2. Drain the butter beans and add them to the pan with the cooked sausage. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pan. Chop the preserved lemon into chunks and add to the pan. Fry everything for 3 minutes, until the butter beans are warm and the tomatoes and lemon have started to blister.

3. Remove the sausage and set aside. Transfer everything else to a large serving bowl. Pour in the olive oil, red wine vinegar, freshly chopped mint and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well.

4. Slice the sausages in half. Serve the salad with the pieces of sausages and some crusty bread on the side.

These recipes first appeared in The Irish Independent on October 8^th