seduced by lamb
I’ve never made lamb, look and wasn’t really planning on it. Instead I was going to make a pizza as an appetizer with a big bowl of fettuccine for the entree. But then I passed the meat counter. It was early Saturday morning and these beautiful lamb chops caught my attention. I passed them once and then came back and stared. Menu changed, I asked the butcher to wrap some chops for me. Then i grabbed the last bunch of fresh mint and went merrily on my way.
After some quick research on epicurious.com about cooking times, I felt prepared to undertake the lamb. Since the chops were so pretty, I didn’t want to drown them in sauces or spices and opted for a nice, charring sear instead. The lamb came out beautifully and paired well with the minty, yogurt sauce I used to dress the pasta.
A big ole dinner is nothing without a big ole dessert. I had some peaches and nectarines that were slightly passed their prime, but perfect for making into a bubbling cobbler. Also, since I bought The Perfect Scoop, I’ve been trying out new ice cream recipes. This time, I went with plain vanilla so that I could make my cobbler a la mode. It turned out to be the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had, creamy white and studded with black vanilla seeds. Personally, I like vanilla much more than chocolate, especially when it’s made with real vanilla beans. I’m sure I’ll be making this ice cream a thousand times just to try different sauces and mix-ins.
Recipes after the jump.
Seared lamb atop Fettuccine with mint sauce
10 lamb chops
good-quality salt, like Maldon
freshly ground pepper
1 lb. egg fettuccine
1 lb. spinach fettucine
16 oz. plain yogurt (Fage, if you can get it)
leaves 10-12 sprigs of fresh mint
1 lb. frozen baby peas
8 cloves raw garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
Make the mint sauce first by quickly sauteeing the frozen peas. Once they’re cooked, but still firm, remove from heat. Using a blender or food processor, blend with the yogurt, mint, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil until everything is uniform and creamy.
Set the lamb chops on a surface and generously coat both sides with the salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat with a little bit of flavorless oil (or non-stick spray) until the oil starts to smoke a bit. Drop in the chops, making sure that they do not overlap and have plenty of room around the edges. Let them sit, completely undisturbed, for 3 minutes of each side then remove to a plate.
Meanwhile, set a large pot filled with hot water over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add plenty of sea salt and then drop in the fettuccine and cook until al dente. Reserving about 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup of the starchy water. Toss the drained pasta with the mint sauce, adding starchy water slowly so that the sauce coats the pasta evenly.
Plate the pasta into 2 nests, top with toasted pine nuts and then the seared lamb.
Peach Cobbler
8-10 peaches or nectarines, peeled and sliced
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
1 stick of butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cut Oats
1 cup brown sugar
Toss the peaces with the lemon juice and cane sugar and let sit for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375. To make the crumble top, place the brown sugar, flour, oats and butter in a bowl and use a knife or pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Keep doing this until the ingredients look like large crumbs.
Pour the peaches into the bottom of a ceramic baking dish and top with the crumble top mixture. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.