Recipe: Filipino Longganisa Sausage Wrapped in Tortilla

This recipe was inspired by Jess Granada and her restaurant Nanam in Auckland. During the pandemic, when our lives had shrunk to the house and the occasional takeaway, Nanam became our go-to. They sold boxes of these longganisa wraps, and my whole family became completely addicted. Smoky, juicy lemongrass-scented sausage, warm tortillas, sharp pickled carrots, chipotle mayo, peanuts and cilantro. We could never seem to order enough.

I’m in Mexico as I write this, looking back through an old cookbook proposal I once put together. The book was called Bites, and this recipe was part of the “Wraps” section. I’ve always loved eating meals in little bites. There is something wonderfully social about food you can pick up with your hands, pass around, and eat in a few delicious mouthfuls.

And here in Mexico, I keep thinking about tortillas. So much can happen inside one. A tortilla can hold an entire meal, and it has a remarkable way of welcoming flavors from somewhere else without losing its sense of place. Looking at this old recipe now, I realize that this particular combination of Filipino longganisa, a Mexican tortilla, atchara and chipotle makes more sense than I once thought.

There is actually a little history behind this unlikely-looking marriage. For 250 years, from 1565 to 1815, Spanish galleons sailed between Manila and Acapulco, carrying people, ingredients, cooking techniques and ideas across the Pacific. Mexican chiles, tomatoes, peanuts and corn found their way into Filipino cooking, while mangoes, rice, tamarind and coconut traveled in the other direction.

Even longganisa has a transcontinental story. The Filipino sausage grew from the Spanish longaniza tradition, while Mexico developed its own longaniza, traditionally tucked into tacos. So although Naman’s version is very much a modern Auckland creation, putting longganisa in a tortilla isn’t quite as strange as it first sounds. It feels less like fusion for fusion’s sake and more like another turn in a very old culinary conversation across the Pacific.

I’m looking forward to being back in Auckland in a few months and heading straight to Naman for the real thing. In the meantime, I’m in the land of freshly made tortillas, so I may have to make a batch myself.

Longganisa is a traditional Filipino sausage typically paired with steamed rice, a fried egg, and thinly sliced pickled shallots in the Philippines, but Naman Restaurant in Auckland has given it a delicious twist by essentially turning it into a taco. They make the beef sausage skinless and spike it with lemongrass, wrapping it in a warm grilled tortilla and topping it off with atchara pickle, cilantro, and a drizzle of chipotle mayo. The result is a smoky, citrusy, and juicy hand-held bite that earned a "Best in Taste of Auckland" award, judged by the renowned celebrity chef Marco Pierre White.

Makes 8-10 Longganisa sausage wraps Prep time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

For the pickled carrot atchar on top:

½ lb (200g) carrots, thinly sliced and julienned
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt

For the sausage:

1 tablespoon salt salt
1/4 cup soft brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
3 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced (the lower white base)
5-6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1.25 lb (570 g) beef, finely minced (preferably wagyu)
½ lb (250g) pork back fat, minced (for a pure beef sausage, replace the pork fat with Wagyu mince with a high-fat content)

For the spicy mayo:

3 tablespoons chipotle puree
1 cup plain mayonnaise
1/2 brown sugar

To serve:

Handful of cilantro (coriander) leaves
2/3 cup (80 g) coarsely ground roasted peanuts
8-10 tortillas, warmed in a dry pan or over the grill

Instructions:

To make the pickled carrots, put the carrots into a non-reactive bowl. Put the remaining ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and pour over the carrots. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, transfer the carrots and liquid to a screw-top glass jar. Make carrots up to 30 minutes ahead of time, but preferably a day.
To make the spicy mayo, puree the chipotle in a food processor. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and combine with the mayonnaise and brown sugar. Set aside.
To make the sausages, puree the salt, sugar, potato starch, soy sauce, lemongrass, and garlic in a blender until the mixture is very fine. Set aside.
Put the beef and pork into a food processor with a paddle attachment. Turn on at a low speed and add the lemongrass puree. Mix until thoroughly combined. The mixture is ready when you can mold it into a meatball using your hands while still retaining moisture and softness.
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using your hands, shape the mixture into 10-12 sausages, each about 4-5 inches (10-12 cm) long, and place on the prepared tray. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to prevent shrinking.
Place a large non-stick, oven-proof frying pan over medium heat and cook the sausages, turning often to get an even sear, for 3-4 minutes. Then place the pan in the oven and cook for another 5 minutes. Test a piece — if it is still rare, cook for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside and let rest for 5 minutes.
Heat up tortillas, add a sausage to the center of each tortilla, drizzle with the spicy mayo, and add drained pickled carrots, crushed peanuts, and cilantro leaves.

Make-ahead: The uncooked sausage mixture can be shaped into sausages, wrapped well and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking. You can also freeze cooked sausages and reheat them gently when needed.