What is a Sausage Rougail (Rougail Saucisse) exactly? 

Sausage Rougail is a specialty hailing from the French island of La Reunion as well as Mauritius and Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. This traditional stew consists of creole pork sausages (often smoked, sometimes fresh), cut in pieces and cooked with minced onions, diced fresh tomatoes, ginger and hot peppers.

This is a widely popular dish in the islands, as it’s affordable, very tasty and simple to make. 

Not a specific recipe, “rougail” is used to name creole stews – with sausage rougail being its most popular version of it. Rougails can also be made with cod instead of sausages, or with other vegetables or fruits replacing the tomatoes and onions – such as eggplants, mangos or apples. When made with fruits, rougails are often served cold as a side dish. 

Rougail Saucisse is well beloved in metropolitan France as well. When walking around farmers’ markets, you’ll often find a stall or two offering homemade “Rougail Saucisses” for people to buy and take home.  

There exist countless recipes for Sausage Rougail, but the staple ingredients almost always remain sausages, onions, ginger, tomatoes and aromatics. My recipe keeps it very simple and classic with the use of thyme, bay leaf and chili pepper. 

How to serve a Sausage Rougail? 

A Sausage Rougail is traditionally served with white rice or simple boiled potatoes. You can also serve it with lentils or red beans. 

How to store Sausage Rougail?

Any leftovers? You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. 

• In the refrigerator: let the the dish cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat your portions on the stovetop on low heat.
• In the freezer: store it in a (freezer-friendly) airtight container and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the container thaw in the fridge before heating it through on the stovetop or in the microwave. 

My cooking notes: 

• Because smoked pork sausages tend to already contain a salty kick, I prefer not to salt this dish. Of course, you can taste and adjust the seasoning with salt before serving if you feel it is needed. 
• I think half a bird’s eye chili is enough to spice the dish. You can of course use a whole one if you like heat, and omit it completely if you don’t want any spice. 

I hope you enjoy this Sausage Rougail (Creole Sausage Stew) recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, please leave a comment. 

More recipes you may like: 

• Classic French Beef Bourguignon
• Cod Provençal with tomatoes, capers and olives
• Chicken and Mushroom Pie (Tourte)
• Classic French Coq Au Vin Rouge
• French Tarragon Chicken 
• Simple Chicken Marengo with Mushrooms 
• Chicken Chasseur (Classic French Hunter’s Chicken)
• Chicken Breasts in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Sausage Rougail (Creole Sausage Stew)

Print Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 40 Minutes 40 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 4 voted )

Ingredients

4 large smoked pork sausages
1 tbsp (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and diced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1.5 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
½ bird’s eye chili, seeded and minced
4 large ripe tomatoes
4-5 sprigs thyme, stemmed
1 bay leaf
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt (to taste)

Instructions

Step 1 – Bring a medium pot filled with water to a simmer. Take the sausages out of the fridge and poke them each four times with a fork, all over. Drop the sausages into the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Take the sausages out and reserve on a plate. When cool enough to handle, dice them into ½ to ¾-inch thick pieces.

 Step 2 – Heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan (or skillet) over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions, minced garlic, grated ginger and minced chili. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until fragrant. Add the sausage pieces and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Step 3 – Add the diced tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and black pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.

Step 4 – After the 20 minutes, stir and crush the tomatoes with the back of a spoon to get a chunky sauce consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed with salt. Serve with steamed rice, potatoes, lentils or red beans. 

The post Sausage Rougail (Creole Sausage Stew) appeared first on Pardon Your French.

So what is a French “Pain d’Épices”? 

Despite appearances, a Classic French Spiced Bread (Pain d’Épices) shouldn’t be mistranslated as a “gingerbread”. Less sweet than its American cousin, a Pain d’épices doesn’t include egg nor butter – it is indeed a “pain” (bread). It is also made with rye flour for more earthiness, and honey – while gingerbreads often include molasses – making for a lighter sweetness that lets the spices shine a bit more. The spice blend of a Pain d’Épices is also more complex, including cinnamon and ginger, but also nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, anise seeds and star anise.

How to enjoy a “Pain d’Épices”? 

Being a cross between a bread and a cake, a Pain d’Épices makes for an equally delicious sweet or savory treat.

• As a starter or on a cheese board – Over the Holidays, Pain d’Épice is often served as a starter, cut in thin slices with foie gras or just before dessert with soft cow’s-milk cheeses like Brie or Camembert.
• For Breakfast – Because it isn’t too sweet, a Pain d’Épices is a great breakfast staple and the perfect canvas for butter, jams and marmalades. I personally love it with a little slab of butter and a drizzle of honey. 
• As a snack – It is also a wonderful pick-me-up in the afternoon as it is satisfying and full of flavor – and again, not too sweet.

Cooking notes:

• Using freshly ground spices, instead of pre-ground /store-bought, will make all the difference here. Freshly ground spices are so much more fragrant and keep their flavor better even after baked. For this recipe, we will need freshly ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper – so using a spice grinder is highly recommended.
• Traditionally, a Classic French Spiced Bread calls for dark rye flour. But from my experience, light rye flour works well too. The difference is almost unnoticeable in taste.

Just like many staples French recipes, there are countless variations of a Pain d’Épices. Some prefer it lighter and drier (closer to a bread), some prefer it moist and more intense in flavor (closer to a cake). This recipe, in my opinion, strikes a happy medium. This Pain d’Épices is soft, moist and perfectly spiced; yet it isn’t too sweet. 

Recommended Equipments:

• A food scale 
• A spice grinder
• A loaf pan

You may also like: 

• Spiced Cookies with Candied Citrus Peels and Almonds (Leckerli)
• Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll 
• Almond Chocolate Twice-Baked Cookies from Provence (Croquants)
• Raspberry Jam-Filled Sablé Sandwiches (Lunettes de Romans)
• Classic Chocolate Bûche de Noël

I hope you’ll love this Classic French Spiced Bread (Pain d’Épices) recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Classic French Spiced Bread (Pain d’Épices)

Print Recipe

Serves: 1 loaf Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour 1 hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 3.9/5

( 19 voted )

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup (125g) dark rye flour
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp (30g) brown sugar (light or dark)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds, whole
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp finely-grated orange zest (or clementine)
1 cup (250ml) milk (2%)
2/3 cup + 1 tbsp (250gr) honey
1 or 2 star anise, whole

Instructions

Step 1 – Pre-heat your oven to 305F (150C) with a rack in the middle. Grease a 8.5-9 inch loaf pan with butter, dust with flour and set aside.

Step 2 – In a saucepan over medium heat, warm together the milk and honey, along with the star anise. When the milk is hot and the honey has dissolved, remove from the heat and set aside to infuse.

Step 3 – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the two flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, anise seeds, pepper, salt, baking soda and orange zest.

Step 4 – Slowly pour in the milk and honey into the dry ingredients (discard of star anise), mixing with a wooden spoon. Stop mixing when just combined.

Step 5 – Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack for 30 minutes before removing from the pan and let cool completely.

Enjoy immediately or wrap in foil and wait 24 hours before enjoying, to allow the flavors to develop further. 

Notes...

This Classic French Spiced Bread (Pain d’épices) can keep well wrapped for up to 1 week. It can keep for up to 3 months in the freezer (in an airtight container or freezer bag). Make sure the bread is completely cooled before freezing it. Thaw it in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

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