Merguez, Smoky Beans & Whipped Feta

Ingredients

For the sausages and bean mixture

• 6 merguez sausages

• 2 red bell peppers

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 4–5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked

• 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes

• 1 × 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed

• 150g fresh cherry tomatoes, halved

• 100–150ml chicken or vegetable stock

• Salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

For the whipped feta

• 200g feta

• 100g thick Greek yoghurt

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1–2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• Freshly ground black pepper

To finish

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Fresh thyme leaves or chopped parsley

• Extra lemon zest, optional

Method

1. Char the peppers

   Place the peppers under a very hot grill, over a gas flame or in a dry cast-iron pan. Turn them regularly until the skins are blackened and blistered all over.

2. Steam and peel the peppers

   Transfer the charred peppers to a bowl and cover with a plate or cling film. Leave them to steam for 10 minutes. Peel away the blackened skins, remove the stalks and seeds, then slice the flesh into strips.

3. Make the whipped feta

   Add the feta, Greek yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed. Refrigerate until serving.

4. Sear the sausages

   Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the merguez sausages and cook until deeply browned on all sides. They do not need to be fully cooked at this stage. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

5. Cook the onion

   Add the olive oil to the same pan if needed. Add the diced onion with a small pinch of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes, until softened and lightly golden.

6. Add the aromatics

   Stir in the garlic, tomato purée, smoked paprika and thyme. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the tomato purée darkens slightly and the spices smell fragrant.

7. Build the tomato sauce

   Pour in the chopped tomatoes and around 100ml of stock. Stir well, scraping any browned sausage flavour from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.

8. Add the beans and peppers

   Stir in the butter beans and sliced charred peppers. Return the sausages to the pan, nestling them into the sauce. Simmer gently for another 8–10 minutes, or until the sausages are fully cooked and the sauce is rich and thick. Add a little more stock if it becomes too dry.

9. Add the fresh tomatoes

   Stir the halved cherry tomatoes through the beans for the final 2–3 minutes. They should soften slightly while keeping some freshness and shape.

10. Season

    Taste the bean mixture and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Be careful with the salt, as both the merguez and feta may already be quite salty.

11. Plate

    Smear a generous layer of whipped feta across each plate. Spoon the butter bean, tomato and charred pepper mixture over the feta.

12. Finish

    Place the merguez sausages on top. Finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh thyme or parsley and a little extra lemon zest.