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Sogo' (Alexandrian spicy sausage)
Sogo' iskandarani: spicy beef sausage fried with peppers, tomato and onion and stuffed into bread
Sogo' sandwiches are as much a part of an Alexandrian night out as liver: the same street stalls fry coins of hot beef sausage with onion, green pepper, tomato and chilli until the juices turn red and sticky, then pack it into crusty rolls. The flavour is bold, garlicky and cumin-heavy, with fresh crunch from the peppers. Egyptian butchers sell the sausage ready-made; outside Egypt, use any spicy, coarse beef sausage such as beef merguez. Serve it in bread with tahini and pickles, or as a main dish with rice and salad. A frequent slip is crowding the pan, so the sausage stews grey instead of browning with the peppers. Chef's tip: fry the sausage first on its own until browned, then add the vegetables to its fat; you get far more flavour than cooking it all together.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb spicy beef sausagessogo' or beef merguez, cut into 2 cm pieces
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionsliced
- 2 green pepperscut into strips
- 3 garlic cloveschopped
- 1 green chillisliced
- 2 tomatoesdiced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
To serve
- 4 crusty rollssplit
- 3 tbsp tahini (optional)thinned with lemon and water
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1 ⅛ lb spicy beef sausages and fry, turning, for 6–7 minutes until browned on all sides.
7 minStep 2: Add 1 onion, 2 green peppers, 3 garlic cloves and 1 green chilli and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, until the peppers are bright and just softening.
4 minStep 3: Stir in 2 tomatoes, 1 tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper and cook for 3–4 minutes until the tomato collapses into a thick sauce around the meat. Cut a piece of sausage open: it should be cooked right through with no pink, at least 160°F in the centre. Undercooked sausage is the one real risk with this dish, so check the thickest piece.
4 minStep 4: Spoon into 4 crusty rolls, drizzle with 3 tbsp tahini and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sogo' (Alexandrian spicy sausage) take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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