Merguez Sausage

One of my favorite places in the city is the Union Square farmers' market. It has steadily grown in the past few years in popularity and in size. During the summer and spring, doing your weekly shopping at the farmers' market can be an exhilirating experience as the stands are practically overflowing with colorful fruits and vegetables. In the winter, the farmers' market understandably shrinks but I still like checking it out for my favorite potato and onion vendor, where I stock up on cipollini onions and colorful potatoes (I am currently enamored with the cute purple ones).

This past Saturday, I once again nixed plans to eat out as I knew I wouldn't be able to force myself outside in the evening due to the bitter cold weather and because I was able to score a pack of merguez sausage from one of the meat vendors at the farmers' market. Merguez sausage is made with ground lamb meat and is common in Moroccan cooking. This sausage was a little spicier than the merguez sausages I have had in the past but still absolutely delicious. I simply cut the sausage into long pieces (the sausage comes packed as one long spiral) and pan seared the sausage pieces in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Be careful, though, as they tend to spatter! I served the sausage with some Israeli couscous and Greek lemon potatoes. I was a fan of the Israeli couscous but my husband was not thrilled with the consistency. The potatoes were made using one of my go to recipes about which I will post on another date. Next time, I may try to make a tagine using the merguez.