Taken from Sasha Marx on Serious Eats, this stew/braise is hearty for an evening you get home a little early from work. If you dont have merguez sausage, use any hot sausage and add 2 tsp of paprika to your spice mix. If you cant find dandelion greens, any bitter greens like mustard or turnip would work.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb merguez sausages
- 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 fresh cayenne, diced or 1/2 tsp dried red chile flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
- 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced
- 1 cup dry lentils
- 1 bunch dandelion greens
- 2 tsp sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup cilantro
Steps
Dandelion greens are grown in sandy soils. After cutting your greens, place them in a bowl or salad spinner and fill with cold water. Agitate with your hands to dislodge the sand. Remove the greens and and let the sand settle to the bottom. Pour the sandy water out. Repeat until the water runs clear and sand free and then once more. Spin or shake the excess water off the greens.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the sausages to brown.
Turn the sausages and once brown, remove to a bowl. It’s ok they’re not fully cooked. They will finish later.
In the oil left in the dutch oven, add the cumin seeds and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 30 seconds.
Add the onions and season with 1 tsp salt and cook while scraping up the brown bits for ~10 min
Add the garlic and red peppers. Cook 30 seconds
Add the stock. If you dont have stock on hand, use 3 cups of water and 1 cube each of Bou chicken and Bou vegetable bouillon. Hand crush the tomatoes and add them along with the lentils and oregano. Bring to a simmer over low heat and roughly 1-2 tsp of salt to taste. cook for 30 min uncovered to reduce the stock
Add the dandelion greens and mix. Cover and cook until wilted… about 3 minutes.
Add the sausages back, add the vinegar and and cover to cook for 10 min
Plate with slice sausages, sprinkle with cilantro, and dress with a drizzle of high quality olive oil and cracked pepper.
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