Spaghetti with Merguez Tomato Sauce

spaghetti

1. Put the flour together with the salt in a bowl, make a hollow in the middle and beat the eggs into it. Now add a tiny sip of water and mix in a circular motion with a fork.
2. I really add the water here in sips, how much depends on the size of the egg, so I don’t give any information about the amount here. Now start kneading with your hands, possibly still adding a sip of water. Knead the dough vigorously.
3. When the dough no longer sticks to your fingers and the bowl, take it out of the bowl and continue kneading vigorously with both hands on the worktop. The dough should be nice and smooth and silky and if you make a dent in it with your finger, it should come back very slowly. Let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
4. Now roll out the dough thinly with the pasta machine and cut the spaghetti with the spaghetti attachment. Now cook the spaghetti in sufficiently salted water until al dente.

Merguez tomato sauce

1. First a word about garlic: if you don’t have fresh garlic, it is advisable to cut the cloves lengthways in the middle and remove the germ, which does not taste really good.
2. Use your fingers to squeeze the merguez out of the intestine in pieces the size of a hazelnut. Heat a little oil in a saucepan and add the cinnamon stick. When the oil is nice and hot, add the Merguez balls and fry them vigorously.
3. Then add the chopped carrot, celery, leek and garlic and roast everything vigorously for a few minutes. Sprinkle the vanilla sugar over it and let it caramelize a little and then deglaze with the cognag and let it reduce a little.
4. Then add the chunky tomatoes, bring to the boil once and then set the temperature to the lowest possible level and now add the sprigs of thyme. Let it simmer for as long as possible, but it should be at least 2 hours, otherwise the sauce will not taste really nice.
5. I haven’t added any other spices at this point, as the Merguez were incredibly spicy. It should be simmered for some time before salting and peppering. Half an hour before serving, add the pepperoni and remove the thyme sprigs and the cinnamon stick before serving. And now add the lemon zest.

finish

1. Drain the spaghetti, catching about 1 soup ladle from the pasta water and adding it to the Merguez tomato sauce. Arrange the spaghetti on a pasta plate and pour the sauce over it. If you like, you can rub fresh Parmesan or pecorino cheese over it, I found that a bit unnecessary.