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The combination of sweet sausage, soft figs and a tangy shallot sauce is honestly a flavour explosion in your mouth. Take it to the next level with a crusty baguette.
Story time.
This recipe is special to me. Back when I was a wee babe of 23, I attended a dear friend’s birthday party at the now (sadly) closed restaurant in Winnipeg called Deseo Bistro. It was the fanciest restaurant I had ever been to. A lovely spot in South Osborne serving up beautiful Spanish tapas inspired dishes.
The menu was like nothing I had ever seen, full of interesting combinations of flavours that I had never tried before. I don’t recall much from that party other than the nice feeling you get after spending a fantastic evening with good company and a tapas dish that stuck in my mind like glue: chorizo and macerated figs in a sweet and sour sauce.
When I saw the dish on the menu I thought to myself, now that’s an interesting combination… I was intrigued. So I ordered it. And it blew my mind. What was this delicious sorcery? How could sausage and fruit be so delicious? Trust me on this. It is ah-mazing.
When I finally decided to try to recreate this dish, I did so just based on a memory of how much I loved it. I had recently discovered this delicious sweet Filipino sausage at the grocery store called longanisa. And I knew it would be bomb with sweet dried figs (which can be easily found year round unlike fresh figs). The shallot and garlic sauce is full of tangy flavour and is best eaten by sopping it up with loads of torn, warm, crusty baguette. If you can’t find longanisa, you can use chorizo sausage and it will be just as amazing.
The reason this dish is so special to me is that I believe it was the beginning of my true love of food. Now, I always loved food, but I wouldn’t say my tastes were very sophisticated before this meal. I had never eaten tapas before and this dish exposed me to idea of new flavours and a new style of eating and enjoying food. Thank you to Deseo for the transformative experience. Miss you. Xo.
Check out the recipe video below for a tutorial on how to make this tasty meal:
Saucy Figs & Longanisa Chorizo Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 small links filipino longanisa sausage or 2 links chorizo sausage sliced
- 1 shallot finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 8 dried figs sliced in half
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- crusty bread to serve
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and when hot, add the olive oil.
- Add the sausage and cook until all sides are dark golden brown. If you’re using longanisa, this can happen quickly as it’s a sweet sausage and the sugars caramelize quickly.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the shallot and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes or until softened slightly.
- Add the beef stock and vinegar and stir to combine. Add the figs.
- Turn the heat up to medium again and let the liquid come to a boil.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Remove from heat.
- Garnish with parsley.
- Serve with lots of crusty bread to soak up that lovely sauce.
