Merguez-Style Brochettes with Cauliflower “Couscous” & Salsa Verde

Merguez-Style Brochettes

with Cauliflower “Couscous” & Salsa Verde

2 Servings
Wellness at Blue Apron
Find recipes that suit your lifestyle with our new nutritionist-approved dietary tags.
Fri Delivery Only
Recipe only available for Friday delivery.
WW™ Approved
Our recipes that have the WW™ Mark of Wellness make vegetables the star of your meal, utilize lean proteins, keep calorie counts in mind and limit saturated fat, sodium and added sugar, and use simple, wholesome ingredients to make dinnertime a nourishing and joyful experience. Smart Point Values ® (SPVs) are assigned to recipes on an “as packaged” basis. To learn more about WW™ visit our partner’s website at WW.com.
Vegetarian
Our vegetarian recipes contain no meat, poultry, fish, or seafood, but may include eggs, and animal-based dairy products, such as cheese and sour cream, as well as honey.
600 Calories Or Less
All of these delicious recipes come in at 600 calories or less per serving, ideal for those who choose to monitor their caloric intake, without sacrificing flavor. The US Food & Drug Administration recommends a 2000 calorie daily intake for the general population. The 600 calorie cap equates to 30% of total 2000 calories per day based on 3 meals per day with 200 calories remaining for snack or beverage.
Carb Conscious
Our Carb Conscious recipes provide a balanced approach to carbohydrate consumption by replacing refined carbohydrates from sources like white flour, rice, and cane sugar with high-fiber foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Our Carb Conscious recipes have 42g or less of net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates minus dietary fiber) per serving, a 25% reduction in net carbs compared to the average Blue Apron recipe served in 2019. Due to the natural variation in size of and contribution of produce in our recipes, some recipes can be badged as Carb Conscious at 45g or less net carbs per serving.
Mediterranean Diet
Our Mediterranean recipes are inspired by the Mediterranean Diet, a healthy eating plan recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans published jointly every five years by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). This eating plan highlights the flavors and cooking styles from countries along the Mediterranean Sea, including those in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. These recipes showcase a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, as well as lean proteins and moderate portions of dairy.
Plant-Forward
Our Plant-Forward recipes are designed by our chefs to help support a flexible diet that emphasizes plant-based foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and other legumes like lentils and soy foods, and includes occasional, moderate portions of meat, poultry, fish, and seafood.
Diabetes Friendly
Our diabetes friendly offering allows you to enjoy wholesome options while adhering to the guidelines set forth by the nutrition experts at our partner at the American Diabetes Association. A recipe with this badge features non-starchy, fibrous vegetables with a limit on calories, total carbohydrates, saturated fat, added sugar and sodium. For those chefs following ADA guidelines, it is recommended that no additional salt be added to this recipe when prepared and for chefs to skip all salting steps of a recipe. See nutrition information on your current page or at blueapron.com for sodium “as packaged”. To find out more about the American Diabetes Association's guidelines visit our partner’s website www.diabetes.org.

From the Test Kitchen

This recipe comes to you from Larry Baldwin, a friend of Blue Apron and executive chef at Cata on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. These delicious brochettes are inspired by merguez sausage, a rich, North African specialty full of warm spices like cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fennel and paprika. In the restaurant, Larry grates the cauliflower on a box grater to achieve a fine, couscous-like texture. While we love cooking at home, Cata is one of our favorite spots for a night out.

Get Cooking
  • Nutrition
    PER SERVING
  • Calories
    700 Cals (est.)
fresh
ingredients
Merguez-Style Brochettes with Cauliflower “Couscous” & Salsa Verde
Title
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 1 1-Inch Piece Ginger
  • 1 bunch Cilantro
  • 1 bunch Mint
  • 1 bunch Parsley
  • 1 Jalapeño Pepper
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 Shallot
  • ½ head Cauliflower
  • 3 Tbsps Marcona Almonds
  • 2 tsps Harissa
  • 10 oz Ground Beef
  • 4 Small Wooden Skewers
  • 3 Tbsps Currants
  • 1½ tsps Madras Curry Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Cata's Merguez Spice Blend (Sweet Spanish Paprika, Coriander, Fennel, Cumin & Cinnamon)
step-by-step
instructions
Cook Along Triangle Created with Sketch.
Prepare the ingredients:
1 Prepare the ingredients:
Wash and dry the fresh produce. Peel and mince the garlic then, using the side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste. Peel and mince the ginger and shallot. Pick the cilantro, mint and parsley leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Remove and discard the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño; mince the jalapeño. (Wash your hands after chopping the jalapeño.) Cut the lemon into quarters and remove the seeds. Remove and discard the core of the cauliflower, then very finely chop the cauliflower until it resembles coarse grains. Roughly chop the almonds.
Make the salsa verde:
2 Make the salsa verde:
Very finely chop the cilantro, mint and parsley leaves. Place in a small bowl along with the jalapeño and the half the garlic paste. Whisk in enough olive oil to form a paste. Stir in the juice of 2 lemon wedges. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the brochettes:
3 Make the brochettes:
In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, harissa, Cata spice blend, remaining garlic paste and a big pinch of salt. Using your hands, mix until well combined. Shape the mixture into four 4-inch long patties. Insert a wooden skewer into the center of each.
Cook the brochettes:
4 Cook the brochettes:
In a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the brochettes and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they reach your desired degree of doneness. (Halfway through cooking, carefully spoon any drippings over the brochettes.) Transfer the cooked brochettes to a plate and let rest at least 5 minutes. Carefully discard any hot oil in the pan.
Cook the cauliflower "couscous":
5 Cook the cauliflower "couscous":
In the same pan used to cook the brochettes, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the shallot and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in the curry powder, cauliflower, currants and ½ cup of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cauliflower has softened and the water is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the Marcona almonds and remove from heat.
Plate your dish:
6 Plate your dish:
Divide the cauliflower “couscous” and cooked brochettes between 2 dishes. Top each with a spoonful of salsa verde (you may have extra salsa verde). Garnish with the remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Tips from Home Chefs

About Blue Apron

Ba hero

Blue Apron delivers original, step-by-step recipes and fresh ingredients to customers nationwide. Our menus change every week, so with each delivery you learn to cook inventive new dishes with seasonal ingredients. By letting us source these hard-to-find ingredients for you, you'll get food that is fresher and cheaper than you can get at your local supermarket, and there's no waste because we only send you what you need for each recipe.

We named our company “Blue Apron” because chefs around the world wear blue aprons when they're learning to cook, and it has become a symbol of lifelong learning in cooking. We believe you're never done learning in the kitchen, so we design our menus to ensure you're always learning new cooking techniques, trying new cuisines, and using unique ingredients.

Blue Apron is a weekly subscription service with no commitment - you can skip a week or cancel at any time with a week's notice. We can't wait to cook with you!

Get This Recipe Delivered

Merguez-Style Brochettes

Prepare the ingredients:
1 Prepare the ingredients:
Wash and dry the fresh produce. Peel and mince the garlic then, using the side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste. Peel and mince the ginger and shallot. Pick the cilantro, mint and parsley leaves off the stems; discard the stems. Remove and discard the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño; mince the jalapeño. (Wash your hands after chopping the jalapeño.) Cut the lemon into quarters and remove the seeds. Remove and discard the core of the cauliflower, then very finely chop the cauliflower until it resembles coarse grains. Roughly chop the almonds.
2 Make the salsa verde:
Very finely chop the cilantro, mint and parsley leaves. Place in a small bowl along with the jalapeño and the half the garlic paste. Whisk in enough olive oil to form a paste. Stir in the juice of 2 lemon wedges. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the salsa verde:
Make the brochettes:
3 Make the brochettes:
In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, harissa, Cata spice blend, remaining garlic paste and a big pinch of salt. Using your hands, mix until well combined. Shape the mixture into four 4-inch long patties. Insert a wooden skewer into the center of each.
4 Cook the brochettes:
In a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Add the brochettes and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they reach your desired degree of doneness. (Halfway through cooking, carefully spoon any drippings over the brochettes.) Transfer the cooked brochettes to a plate and let rest at least 5 minutes. Carefully discard any hot oil in the pan.
Cook the brochettes:
Cook the cauliflower "couscous":
5 Cook the cauliflower "couscous":
In the same pan used to cook the brochettes, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the shallot and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in the curry powder, cauliflower, currants and ½ cup of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until the cauliflower has softened and the water is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the Marcona almonds and remove from heat.
6 Plate your dish:
Divide the cauliflower “couscous” and cooked brochettes between 2 dishes. Top each with a spoonful of salsa verde (you may have extra salsa verde). Garnish with the remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Plate your dish: