Day 11: Staying in Africa
Day 11 of the World Cup of BBQ saw a 1st cook from Tunisia. I love the flavours of North African food and whilst doing some research came across Ojja Merguez. It is very similar to Shakshuka, which I see have cooked a few times, so thought it would be good have a go at cooking this.
Preparation and the Cook
I have noticed doing these daily cooks, I seem to be favouring the Aldi Kamado. My kettle BBQ’s don’t seem to get the same amount of cooks as they use to since I bought this. I can see why people make the investment in larger & branded Kamado style BBQ’s as they are great to cook on.
For this cook, I initially cooked the Merguez Sausages over direct heat to impart some smokiness into them. Once cooked, I added the deflector plate. This has the effect of turning the BBQ into an over, similar to cooking indirect.
I used a steel skillet (mine is from Alex Pole) to cook the dish but you could do this using a cast-iron pan also. After heating up the skillet, it was on with the cook, gradually adding the ingredients, finishing with the eggs.
The Verdict
One of the things I love about doing the World Cup and F1 cooks, is that I discover so many new recipes and ingredients. I really liked this Ojja Merguez dish, and actually preferred it over Shakshuka. I am a real spice fan, and actually found this really woke up my taste buds, which is always great for breakfast.
If you are a Shakshuka fan and like your spice, I would really recommend giving this a go!!!
Tunisian Ojja Merguez
Ingredients
- 4 Merguez Sausages
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion (chopped)
- 1 Red Pepper (diced)
- 2 Tomatoes on the Vine (chopped)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Harissa
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ tsp Ground Coriander
- ⅓ Cup Water
- 1 tbsp Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- I started by cooking the Merguez Sausage over direct heat. Once they were cooked, I removed them from the BBQ. Once cooled slice them in to rounds. Once the sausages were cooked I added the deflector plate.
- Next, add your skillet to the BBQ and once it has warmed up add your Onions and cook for around 5 minutes. Add your Garlic, mixing with the Onion and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add your Red Pepper, again mixing well with the Onion and Garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes before adding in the Cumin, Coriander, Harissa, Paprika and Salt. Give the dish a good stir making sure everything is mixed in really well.
- After 2 minutes add the Chopped Tomatoes and Tomato Puree. Cook for a further 5 min before adding your water and cooked Merguez Sausage and then leave to bubble for 10 minutes. You may need to check it occasionally and give it a good stir.
- After 10 minutes, make 2 wells in the mixture and add your crack your eggs into the wells. I am always nervous at this bit as I don't want to break the yoke – it's easily done! Cook the egg with the lid down and your dish is ready to serve, once you can visually see the egg white is cooked.
- Carefully spoon onto a plate and top with the Chopped Parsley.
