Summertime means corn on the cob, tomato sandwiches, and in my household - Moroccan lamb sausages (merguez). Merguez, Morocco’s addictive spicy lamb sausages, have become synonymous with quick French food and can easily be found in most grocery stores in France. Our favorite way to eat them is grilled over a wood fire with chickpea flatbread (socca) and a southern French chickpea dip called poischichade. There is something intoxicating about the smoky flavors mingling with the charred bits of lamb.

This is a simplified version of merguez that my mother taught me to make when I was little. You can roll this mixture into a sausage shape or form it into patties.

PREP: 10 minutes | COOK: 5 minutes | MAKES: 8 servings

ingredients

• 2 pounds ground lamb (a good blend is about 70% meat, 30% fat)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic mashed

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder (or hot paprika)

• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika

• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed

• 1 teaspoon cumin

directions

1. To make the merguez, in a large bowl, combine the lamb, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powders, fennel, and cumin, and paprika until well mixed. Cover, refrigerate, and let the flavors marry together overnight.

2. Either hand roll into 8 long sausage shapes or form into 8 hamburger-style patties. I usually roll the merguez around metal skewers.