Merguez Frites

In France, if you order a "sandwich américain," what you'll end up with is a chopped beef, hamburger-like substance, topped with french fries, and stuffed into a baguette. Even better though, is a variation on the sandwich américain, where the hamburger is replaced with merguez sausage, and served from a street cart. Vendors can be found dishing out the delicious merguez frites, as they're called, on the streets of Paris, from stalls at flea markets, or at the fireworks display in Carcassone.

Yield:

serves 2

Ingredients

1. 2 merguez sausages
2. 1 leek, thinly sliced
3. 2 tablespoons flour
4. 2 tablespoons cornstarch
5. Vegetable oil
6. 2-3 potatoes, thinly sliced into french fries
7. 2 French baguettes
8. Harissa or dijon mustard
9. Spicy ketchup

Directions

1. On an indoor or outdoor grill, grill your merguez sausages, whole.
2. Toss the sliced leeks with the flour and cornstarch. In a pan, fry the leeks with some vegetable oil for about 1 minute.
3. In heated vegetable oil, double fry the sliced potatoes until golden brown. Allow to drain on some paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
4. In a fresh baguette, brush some harissa or dijon mustard and spicy ketchup on each side of the bread. Add your grilled sausages, nestle some french fries between the sausages and the bread, and then top with some fried leeks.

Notes