Merguez

Merguez is a thin, spicy lamb-and-beef sausage coloured deep red with harissa and paprika. It is a Maghrebi staple, and Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco all claim it as their own — the sausage predates the modern borders between them, and no single country can fairly call it exclusively theirs.

What it really is

Minced lamb and beef mix with harissa, paprika, cumin and garlic into a paste stained deep red before the whole thing gets stuffed into a thin natural casing, giving merguez its recognisably narrow shape compared to thicker European sausages. Grilled hard and fast over direct heat, the thin casing chars quickly while the spiced meat inside cooks through in minutes, releasing fat that carries the harissa's heat straight into whatever it's served alongside.

The thin casing is what lets it cook so fast. A merguez this narrow chars and cooks through in the time a thicker sausage would barely start to brown, which is exactly why it works as a quick grill item rather than a slow-cooked one.

How it is served

• Grilled and sliced or left whole, often alongside couscous or in a sandwich.
• With harissa on the side for guests who want more heat than the sausage already carries.
• As a main course or folded into other dishes, like ojja, as a flavour base.

How to write it on the menu

• Note that it's a shared Maghrebi sausage rather than exclusively from one country, since guests sometimes ask.
• Say how it's served, since merguez appears equally often in a sandwich, on a grill plate, or as an ingredient in another dish.
• Rate the heat honestly, since the harissa content varies by producer and some versions run considerably spicier than others.