Merguez Rolls
North African pigs-in-blankets: puff pastry wrapped around spicy merguez lamb sausage. Served with a drizzle of harissa-honey or yogurt.
Overview
All-butter puff pastry rolls thin; cuts into 4 long strips. Merguez sausages cut into 6 cm lengths. Each pastry strip wraps once around a merguez piece (overlapping seam underneath). Eggwashes; dusts with sesame and nigella seeds. Bakes for 25 minutes at 200°C till the pastry is deep gold and the sausage cooked through.
Ingredients
- 500 g all-butter puff pastry (2 ready-rolled sheets)
- 600 g merguez sausages (about 6-8 sausages)
- 1 egg yolk (beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon nigella (kalonji) seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional sprinkle)
To serve
- 2 tablespoons Harissa
- 2 tablespoons clear honey (warmed briefly to thin)
- 200 g yogurt (whisked with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a pinch of salt)
Method
Stage 1 - Prep sausages
- Cut each merguez sausage crossways into 4-6 cm lengths.
- You should have 16 short pieces.
Stage 2 - Cut pastry strips
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
- Unroll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut each sheet lengthways into 4 strips of equal width (about 6 cm wide).
- Then cut each strip in half crossways - you should have 16 strips total, each about 6 cm × 12 cm.
Stage 3 - Wrap
- Place a merguez piece at one short end of a pastry strip.
- Roll up so the pastry wraps once around the sausage with a small overlap seam underneath.
- Place seam-down on a parchment-lined tray.
- Repeat for all 16.
Stage 4 - Glaze
- Brush each roll with the egg-yolk wash.
- Sprinkle generously with sesame and nigella seeds.
- Optionally dust with a tiny amount of ground cumin.
Stage 5 - Bake
- Bake 22-25 minutes until the pastry is deep gold and puffed and the sausage juices are bubbling underneath.
Stage 6 - Harissa-honey
- Whisk the harissa with the warm honey to a glossy spicy-sweet drizzle.
Stage 7 - Serve
- Pile rolls on a platter.
- Drizzle with harissa-honey at the table (or serve in a small jug on the side).
- Provide the cool yogurt sauce alongside.
Notes
- Real merguez, not generic sausage: merguez has lamb / beef, harissa, cumin, paprika, garlic - its identity is the spice mix. A pork sausage or generic chipolata won't taste right. Buy from a halal butcher or North-African deli.
- One layer of pastry, not two: these are roll-ups, not parcels. A single wrap with seam underneath is the structure.
- Harissa-honey is iconic: the combination of hot North-African chilli paste and sweet honey is the signature dipping sauce. Don't skip.
Storage
- Best within an hour of baking.
- Keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat in a 200°C oven 8 minutes.
- Freeze unbaked, on a tray then bagged, 2 months; bake from frozen 28 minutes.
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