No Vampires Here! Lamb Chops with Asparagus-Feta (GARLIC) Salsa Verde
"There is no such thing as a little garlic." Arthur Baer
"My tongue is burning. I think this has waaaaay too much garlic." Chris George
Today I made lamb for Chris for the first time. This is odd because lamb is one of my favorite meats and my love for it goes way back.
When we were kids, we were allowed to choose our birthday meal. My sister always chose stuffed shells with angel food cake birthday cake (always with strawberries). My brother, who is the oldest chose something like roast chicken or pot roast but that doesn't matter. He was more concerned that his birthday cake was always my grandmother's apple pie. (She made two - one for Lars and one for the rest of us.) I, on the other hand would choose either lasagna or leg of lamb. My birthday cake was always grandma's apple cake - quite different from apple pie. (Sometimes it was a yellow cake with my other grandmother's mocha frosting recipe.)
So as a child I loved lamb. And lima beans. I was a strange one.
This recipe comes from Cat Cora's "Cooking from the Hip" which was a birthday present from my awesome and amazing friends Adam and Sara. Sara even waited in line during their Disney vacation to have Cat sign the book for me! (She gets extra points because she was 5 months pregnant with her first child, who is now 3 and a half.)
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| I don't know how to say this but...I'm kind of a big deal. |
So the recipe began last night when I prepped the lamb. Take 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (NEVER the squirty lemon shaped bottle - that is not lemon juice.); 4 TBS EVOO; 3 TBS chopped fresh oregano (special thanks to Chris and his green thumb for keeping our oregano plant alive!) 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a teaspoon black pepper. Mix it in a dish in which you can fit 4 to 6 lamb chops. You choose what cut - shoulder, rib or loin. I chose rib chops. Place the chops in, flip 'em over and rub them all up in the marinade, cover and let sit overnight. I flipped them once about halfway thru.
Before dinner I made the Asparagus-Feta Salsa Verde....only I used herb seasoned goat cheese. And...apparently too much garlic. The salsa is fairly simple as well. About 8 stalks of asparagus (snap the bottom of each stalk off before you cook - just take the stalk and bend it gently...it will snap where it needs to.); 1/2 cup feta (or regular goat cheese); 1 TBS chopped fresh parsley; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1/4 EVOO and 2 TBS red wine vinegar. Ground pepper to taste.
Boil the asparagus in salted water for a few minutes - watch until it turns a nice bright green. Have a bowl of ice water ready and, using tongs, put the cooked asparagus into the ice bath. This stops the cooking and prevents mushy asparagus. Mix all of the other ingredients and then dry the asparagus and cut them on a bias in 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch pieces. Toss it all together. This is where things went really....really wrong. I used a HUGE garlic clove....which normally isn't an issue. I also took the lazy route and pressed it rather than minced it...this might have been where it went bad.
I tasted it and it seemed strong but I figured the parsley and other food (lamb and rice) would balance it out. (Not quite the case.)
Set that aside and relax a bit before dinner.
I also pre-cooked some rice so it was ready to reheat right before dinner and all I had to do was sear the chops and eat.
So when I was ready, I cooked up the chops. Heated some olive oil in a large pan at high heat until juuuust smoking. BAM - put the chops in and sear so they're nice and browned on both sides. Like a crispy happy brown. Then turn the heat down and, depending on the thickness of the chops, cook for 4 to 6 minutes more per side. I poke at the meat for doneness like you would for steaks. Lamb is the safest meat to eat so I usually cook it pretty rare (I like my steak "french blue" so it's a matter of taste). Lamb is typically cooked medium rare. Try it.
Plating it was fun. I packed the rice in little prep bowls and heated them in the microwave. Carefully invert them on your plates for a shaped dome of rice (use ramekins and such - it's an easy way to portion out food and make it look impressive at the same time. For extra color or texture put a little minced red pepper or some sliced, toasted almonds in the bowl before packing the rice in.
I tried to get a little height with the chops but they were kind of heavy and I didn't want them to crush the rice dome. Salad or a pile of noodles or a mound of mashed potatoes are good alternatives.
Then I spooned the "Salsa Verde" on and served!
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| Looks impressive, right? |
After the first bite Chris said "Why is my mouth burning???" We quickly realized the garlic was just ridiculously overpowering in this "Salsa" and proceeded to eat with caution.
Once we got past that we both really liked the lamb and the lemon/oregano marinade. Growing up it was the traditional and predictable, if not tasty, salt/pepper/rosemary treatment. Dad had his mint jelly and we all gagged watching him use it.
Next time - I will hand-mince a small clove. Or even better - I might just roast the asparagus, squeeze a little lemon over it and crumble fresh goat cheese on that and call it a day!
There are at least 4 or 5 more recipes I will be making from this book.
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