Chargrilled Peppers in Merguez Meatballs

Asked by BJK. Answered on 18th January 2016

Full question

I want to make the Merguez Meatball recipe but do not have chargrilled peppers. Would a jar of sun dried peppers work or would this ruin the recipe please? Thanks. Barbara

Our answer

Nigella's recipe for Merguez Meatballs (from Simply Nigella) is very simple as the spiced sausagemeat from the merguez sausages and the chargrilled peppers in the sauce add a lot of richness and flavour. Jars of chargrilled peppers (called roasted red peppers in the US) are available in most supermarkets and they are quite soft so they do not need any extra cooking.

Sundried peppers and sundried tomatoes can be a little tough and so may not be a great substitute. Instead we would suggest deseeding and roughly chopping a couple of sweet peppers (red, yellow or orange, or a mixture) and frying the pepper pieces in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, until soft and slightly charred at the edges. You could do this in the pan you are going to use, before you make the meatballs. Scoop the peppers out of the pan and then add them back once you have added the tinned (canned) tomatoes before continuing with the recipe.