THE RAWIT & THE PAPRIKA
Marrakech, Morocco
Day 9
So, here I am in Medina, the world-known market in Morocco. I don’t know exactly what I am looking for, I’ am just letting my senses guide me. My eyes are examining the colourful stands as I am wandering around the busy market. Oh! I just bumped into a basket of fresh hot rawit chili peppers. That’s it! That’s the sign I was looking for! This sausage is meant to be really hot and spicy. With the first ingredient in hand, I am scanning the market stalls for the rest, this time not with my eyes, but with my nose. I smell a variety of spices: black pepper, paprika, cumin, fennel, cinnamon… What a great warm and earthy combination! They must all take part in this sausage. I’m almost done, I need one last ingredient. Something to cool down the spiciness. A touch of fresh coriander maybe? Yes, that’s it! I’m ready to make the spiciest yet most rich-flavoured sausage ever made!
INGREDIENTS
THE SUNDRIED TOMATO AND THE BASIL
Burano, Italy
Day 3
This island is like a rainbow! There is a purple house with yellow curtains, next to a blue one full of flowers, next to a green house with white curtains… Everything is so colorful under the bright sun and the clear sky! This special and peaceful atmosphere combined with the fresh, delicious Caprese salad that I eat, makes my heart beat faster! Now that I think about it, the salad ingredients would fit perfectly in a sausage – remember to make it when I get home, to relive these moments. Maybe I would improvise a bit to enhance the scent and “tie” the ingredients; I will replace some ingredients with other more suitable ones.Hm .. Basil does not have a corresponding substitute so it remains, but fresh tomatoes can be replaced with sun-dried ones. And the mozzarella? I need a more spicy cheese, which melts more slowly. Provolone! When I get home and gather all the ingredients, along with a nice piece of organic pork and some spices like white and black pepper, garlic and coriander, I am ready to shape the sausage. 15 days later, I try it and it immediately sends me to Paradise! All the memories automatically come to my mind, as if I were living again from the beginning that summer in Italy.
INGREDIENTS
THE SUJUK & THE SPINACH
Agros, Cyprus
Day 6
In Agros, a small village up on the Troodos Mountain in Cyprus, at an altitude of 1,100 meters with a magnificent amphitheatrical setup, I sat outdoors at a local tavern and tried the famous pastourma sausages, a local delicacy and a very old culinary heritage. In this village they still produce them the traditional way. Stunned by their aromas and their true beefy body I immediately thought I have to recreate this sausage with a lesser pungent flavour. Instead of pastourma I will use sujuk and further lighten the recipe by adding more ingredients. When I get home, I go straight to my kitchen and collect the envisioned ingredients – some slices of beef sujuk and a nice piece of organic beef, fresh red Florina peppers, fresh baby spinach, dried onion, peppers black, cayenne and pul piber and a few hours later my sausages are ready. My mouth waters at the sight and the smell of them; I can’t wait to taste them! I put a piece in my mouth, and I feel its juices splash and its rich yet so light flavour takes me to all sorts of different places.
INGREDIENTS
THE JALAPENO & THE CORIANDER
Mexico City, Mexico
Day 5
Here I am in the Medellin Market in Mexico City, wandering around the stalls, smelling all different kinds of aromas and letting my senses dictate my route. Passing by the counter of a butcher, my eyes are stuck to some strange dark green sausages hanging from above. I stop and ask what these green sausages are. I get a simple answer, “Chorizo Verde”, i.e. green Chorizo! Just that! I instantly buy a batch of them to take back to the hotel and ask the chef to cook them for me, because their looks are irresistible. My only encounter so far with Mexican sausages is with red Chorizos, succulent pork sausages seasoned with red chilies, spices and the presence of vinegar. Did some preliminary research on green chorizo and found that it’s a popular 20th-century innovation from the town of Toluca, made with fresh vegetables and herbs with an emphasis on fresh coriander. The chef served me with grilled sausages, tacos with this sausage fillings, eggs with this sausage and melted cheese, and a fresh salad with sausage pieces. I am stunned by the freshness of every bite of these sausages and their versatility. Back home, I collect my ingredients starting with a nice juicy piece of organic pork and of course, jalapeños! I won’t put too many, so to keep the heat level to medium and enjoy every bite. I’ll add a serious amount of fresh coriander and green bell peppers instead of poblano peppers to achieve total freshness and spinach to enhance flavour and colour. In few days, I try the sausages and they are super fresh and delicious.
INGREDIENTS
THE BLUEBERRY & THE GORGONZOLA
Athens, Greece
4th Day
I’m so nervous right now, I’ll be judged by the strictest of all: my 8-year-old daughter. I cross my fingers and hope she will like today’s sausage, but my hope is falling apart as I’m watching signs of disapproval in her face – this didn’t start well. “Boring!” she grumpily yells. “Make it blue!” she pleads. One thing I can’t resist is her puppy-eye look, so if she wants it blue, blue it has to be then! The next few months I am researching like crazy on how to make a blue sausage without using food colouring. And voilà! Τhere is a Thai flower called “Butterfly Pea Flower” that naturally colours blue every food-canvas it touches. This is it! When I finally collect all my ingredients, organic pork, dried blueberries, baby spinach, panko, gorgonzola and a few simple spices, and of course tonight’s star, the Butterfly Pea Flowers, I form the sausages. In a few days my queen is already seated for dinner and as I approach to serve her, she squeals “Yeeeees daddy, this is blue! You did it! It’s blue!” She surprises me by grabbing one sausage and slowly eating it all. Then grabs another one and eats that as well. She looks so happy and that makes me even happier! I made this unique sausage for her and only for her! And every time we have sausages she simply says “Daddy, can you make me some blue ones, please?”
INGREDIENTS
THE LEMON & THE FENNEL
New York, USA
Day 24
I love this city… So many songs have been written about it and I finally feel why. It’s something about its lights that shine brighter than others and its faster and noisier pace that makes New York City so irresistible and irreplaceable. “You have arrived at your destination” my GPS informs me, but my “destination”, i.e. the restaurant I was heading to, is not here! Oh no! My stomach is whining, I must find some other place to eat soon. As I am trying not to panic, I see a big bright neon sign of a sausage cart. While my stomach is singing “Hallelujah!” I notice that the only food served here is Italian sausage. How is this possible? Either the sausage is so good, or the owner is just crazy. I’ll go with the first one because I’m starving. When I finally taste my sausage, I get a blast of fennel in my mouth, wow! Fennel aroma in abundance in a pork sausage with some serious background hints of lemon; it tastes A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Who would guess I would eat such a delicious sausage at a humble cart in NYC. Its recipe is definitely one of the souvenirs that I’m taking back home. This Italian sausage inspired me to create “The Fennel & The Lemon sausage.” Once home, I collect all key ingredients, organic lemon zest and juice, ground fennel and whole seeds, turmeric and a few more spices and chose to substitute pork by organic chicken breast fillets with no fat to construct this deliciously delicate recipe.
INGREDIENTS