Lamb chops with salsa verde
Ingredients
Serves 2
For the lamb chops and marinade:
- 4-6 lamb chops, depending on many you like per person
- 1 teaspoon rapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Good grind of black pepper
For the salsa verde:
- 2 large handfuls chopped mixed light herbs – flat leaf parsley, basil, mint, chives, oregano or tarragon
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 4 salted anchovies, chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
- 100ml rapeseed oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch Maldon sea salt
Timings
Prep time: 1 hour to marinade
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Lamb chops with salsa verde
I don’t often buy expensive cuts of meat but when I do splash out I ABSOLUTELY LOVE them. Lamb needs salt to really make the flavours sing otherwise it can be a bit musty. Here the saltiness of the anchovies and capers and the freshness of the herbs and lemon are a cracking combination.
Method
Place all the marinade ingredients in a jug and mix well. Put the lamb chops in a shallow non-metalic dish. Pour over the marinade and massage it well into the meat. Cover and leave for 1-12 hours in the fridge.
The salsa verde can be made in advance. Chop up all the herbs and place them in a bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Taste and add oil, lemon, salt and pepper as necessary.
Take out the lamb chops 30 minutes before cooking to bring them up to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat the barbeque until it’s ready. Season the chops with salt and pepper and place them on the griddle. Cook for 7-10 minutes on either side depending on how well done you like them. To see how well cooked they are, press the large part of the flesh with your index finger. It will be soft for rare, have some bounce for medium and be firm for well done.
When you have cooked them to your liking take them off the heat and cover with foil and place to the side for 5 minutes to rest. Serve with lashings of salsa verde, boiled new potatoes, wilted spinach and asparagus.
DOWNLOAD OR PRINT RECIPE HERE.
Salsa verde (or green herb sauce as we used to call it on Colonsay) is a classic accompaniment to many great ingredients. Use whatever combination of light herbs you can find. If you have leftovers, try it alongside poached salmon, baked haddock or stirred through lentils. The key is to chop the herbs rather than throw them in a food processor. We are looking for a chunky texture not a pesto.”Ā
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