A sausage roll that’s anything but ordinary

Don’t let the name of this recipe fool you. This is no ordinary sausage roll.

If you have ever had shakshuka, a North African dish, you might recognize the smoky taste of harissa, which is made from roasted bell and chili peppers that are pounded into a paste with various other spices. Harissa can really vary depending on which brand you use — I use a heaping tablespoon of Belazu’s Rose Harissa, which is wonderfully spiced but has medium heat — so taste yours first and adjust.

This recipe for Lamb Sausage Rolls is genius on a couple of levels. First, the juices from the lamb mixture are lapped up by the couscous as it steams to perfection inside the puff pastry, keeping it crisp. And second, the currants are so small they lend just the right amount of sweetness.

I like to serve these rolls with spiced yogurt — plain yogurt mixed with equal parts of paprika, cumin and turmeric — for dipping.

This is adapted from a recipe from Melissa Clark for the New York Times food section. She suggests baking them in long rolls a little bigger than egg roll size. However, I was looking for a finger food that I could make ahead of time, so I adapted the recipe, froze them and finally cut them into 1- to 2-inch pieces for individual bites.

You can keep these in a Ziploc bag in the freezer for up to a month. When I was ready to serve these lamb rolls, they went straight from the freezer into a preheated oven. So convenient for a party!

It does take a few steps to put these together, but they are so great to have for a last-minute snack that it is well worth the extra effort.

Claudia Alexander has been happily cooking for family and friends for more than three decades. She has a weekly food blog, sweetbynurture.com. Contact her at [email protected].

RECIPE

Lamb Sausage Rolls

Serves 4 as an entrée or 24 individual bites

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil

¼ cup almonds, coarsely chopped

1 pound ground lamb

½ cup small-diced (¼ inch) yellow onion

1 ½ teaspoon of kosher salt

1/3 cup roasted red bell pepper cut into small bite-sized pieces

¼ cup dried black currants

1 tablespoon harissa

¼ cup uncooked couscous

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

Poppy seeds

Directions:

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat, add the chopped almonds and swirl until they start to get fragrant and turn golden. Be careful that they don’t burn.

Put the nuts into a medium-sized bowl to cool. While the nuts are cooling, add the oil to the pan and cook the onion until it is soft, about five minutes. Next, add the red bell pepper, harissa and ½ teaspoon of salt. Add to the bowl of nuts and let cool. Next, add the currants, couscous, and then the ground lamb. Using wet hands, mix everything until completely combined.

Cover the sausage mixture with a plate or plastic wrap and put in the fridge. (Note: The lamb mixture comes together quickly but it is easier to roll if it is cold.)