Merguez (lamb, beef and paprika) - absolutely the most wonderful barbecue delight. Spicy and spitty - perfect in the delirious sunshine that is now the definite norm in Cromer. This batch were brought back from France last Summer, bought in a last minute panic with the wine and cumin flavoured gouda cheese. Along with the sausages, the barbecue yielded some lovely chicken (2 crowns for £5, each split down the middle, glooped in an off the shelf Nandos marinade and some ill thought out lamb chops, marinated in mint sauce. The chicken was fabulous and the chops were fine but didn't taste of mint at all!
The bulghur wheat says to cook it and so on but I just soak it like couscous which, incidentally, is an ok substitute. I think they probably use dried mint in the tubs of tabouleh that we live on when we're camping in France. Other perfect accompaniments for this would be potato salad with frankfurters, celeriac in lemony mayonaise and carrot rappe.Oh and that lovely beetroot salad they do in French supermarkets.
Make sure the herbs are plentiful with the wheat in the background (I probably used a bit too much to bulk it out for the week ahead).
ingredients
- bulghur wheat
- a tomato(finely diced)
- juice of 2 lemons
- flat leaf parsley (lots)
- mint (not as much as the parsley)
- a small red union (finely diced)
- cucumber (finely diced)
- 2 cloves of garlic (mushed)
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- olive oil
method
- soak the bulghur wheat in boiling water (about 1cm above the top of the wheat)
- leave it to cool down - all afternoon in this case
- slice/chop the herbs but not too finely
- combine all the ingredients and drench with lemon juice and some olive oil
Make enough to last all week.
