Thursday, June 04, 2015

Carnage du Jour - 02 June 2015

Lamb chops.

Better: lamb chops on the grill.

I was perusing some old carnages des jours passés and came across a few things that made me want to try them again.
Well, almost - I seldom actually repeat a full recipe.

In this case, I've merged and modified a couple different carnages to create this wonderful dish.
  • Start the grill (charcoal, of course).
  • Lamb chops (at room temp before cooking, of course) seasoned with salt, pepper, and curry powder on the first side.
  • While those chops took in that flavour, a bunch of asparagus was drizzled with a bit of olive oil and tossed with some herbes de Provence, then straight on the grill (away from the direct flames, of course).
  • As those green spears approached roasted perfection, on went the chops (seasoned side down, of course) and a second dose of the same seasonings went on the second side.
  • The chops got rotated for nice marks (it didn't really work though) and when they were flipped, I grated the zest of half a lime across the four chops, watching that beautiful green stuff basically dissolve into the juicy surfaces.
A bit of left-over rice was being warmed (it had been cooked in a really delicious mushroom stock a couple days earlier and this was some of the best rice I've ever made), and when the chops came off the grill (the asparagus having preceded them by several minutes), I gave the rice and asparagus one last dose of microwaves to make sure everything was piping hot and served it all up with no butter, no sauces, just the inherent flavours of the ingredients.

Heidi (who likes lamb quite well, but isn't really a lamb chop lover) said it was probably the best lamb she had ever had.

Who am I to argue?
Delicious and highly recommended.