Merguez recipes

I've been on the lookout for a great merguez appetizer recipe, and it turns out that they are few and far between. The reason, I think, is that most recipes calling for merguez, that spicy Tunisian lamb and beef sausage, are for bold main dishes, couscouses, soups, stews, and pizzas.

I'm working on a culinary arc for Joel's birthday, when I'm going to do a tasting menu based on foods and flavors he loves. And so the merguez needed to be either the amuse bouche or the appetizer to fit into the meal.

I wanted to share some of the ideas I found, because though, in the end, I decided to forge into uncharted territory and try to make a version of Lebanese meat pies with merguez, I'd like to later revisit some of the recipes I found in the search.

• Grilled merguez with fresh prune chutney from the Figs Olives Wine blog
• Fig and merguez salad from Big Oven
• Stuffed grape leaves with merguez sausage from Gourmet, via Epicurious

I also stumbled upon a suggestion on Chowhound about where to buy merguez in the Bay Area.