Spicy Lamb Sausages with White Bean Hummus

, from Issue #32. September, 2015
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
Spicy Lamb Sausages with White Bean Hummus

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

Sausages
600 grams good lamb mince
½ cup fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons milk or water
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ginger and cumin
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup finely chopped mint or flat-leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

White bean hummus
1 x 400 gram tin cooked white cannellini beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup tahini
finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
3-4 tablespoons water

To serve
handful of herbs, choose one herb or a combination of mint, flat-leaf parsley and coriander
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
12 large black olives, halved and stoned
olive oil and pomegranate molasses
warm mountain breads or other flat breads

METHOD

Sausages: Combine all the ingredients, except the lamb, in a large bowl. Add the lamb, season well with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Don’t be tempted to use a food processor or you will end up with a paste.

Divide the mixture into 16 portions and form into 12 cm long sausages.

Hummus: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, adding enough water to make a soft purée. Season well.

To cook: Heat a little olive oil at a medium-low heat in a non-stick sauté pan or on the pre-heated flat grill plate on the barbecue. Cook the sausages on all sides until golden and cooked through but not dry. Drain on kitchen towels. If the pan is too hot the sausages will catch and burn due to the pomegranate molasses.

To serve: Spread a large spoonful of hummus on serving plates. Top with 4 sausages then scatter with herbs, red onion and olives. Drizzle with a little olive oil and pomegranate molasses and serve with warm mountain breads. 

Pantry Note
Pomegranate molasses: a thick syrup produced by cooking down pomegranate juice. It is a slightly astringent, sweet-sour condiment used widely throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. Available at specialty food stores.