Lamb With Arugula Dipping Sauce Recipes

LAMB CHOPS WITH MINT AND MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat broiler to high. Place garlic in a small saucepan and add 2/3 cup oil, to cover. Heat oil and garlic over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove oil from heat. Arrange lamb chops on broiler pan. Drizzle 3 teaspoonfuls of the garlic oil over the lamb and spread the oil over the chops with a brush to coat evenly. Season chops with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
• To a food processor or blender, add mustard, vinegar, honey. Turn processor or blender on and stream in remaining garlic and oil. Turn the processor or blender off and add mint to the container. Pulse and grind the dipping sauce to incorporate the leaves.
• Broil chops 3 minutes on each side, then let them rest up to 10 minutes for the juices to distribute. The lamb will be cooked to medium. Serve 3 chops per person with dipping sauce portioned in radicchio leaves along side the chops. Garnish with sprigs of mint. Tabbouleh stuffed tomatoes and white beans with thyme make wonderful side dishes. See recipes below.

ARUGULA-STUFFED LEG OF LAMB WITH ROASTED SPRING VEGETABLES

Steps:

• For arugula filling:
• In a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, cook garlic in olive oil, stirring, until it begins to turn pale golden, then add arugula in batches, stirring and turning over with tongs until slightly wilted before adding each new batch, and continue sautéing until completely wilted, about 1 minute more. Season with salt, and transfer arugula filling to a large sieve set over a bowl to drain. Let cool.
• For lamb:
• With a food processor running, add garlic cloves, one at a time, through feed tube, and finely chop. Add oregano, lemon zest, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to processor, and pulse until paste is well blended.
• Pat the lamb dry. Arrange it, boned side up, on a work surface. Patch any holes with slices of meat from the edge, and season it with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub boned side with half of oregano paste, then top it evenly with all of the arugula mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.
• Beginning with a short side, roll up lamb, enclosing arugula (the rolled roast will appear messy and ungainly, but once it's roasted, it will look delicious). Snugly tie roast closed, crosswise at 1-inch intervals and around the length, with kitchen string.
• Transfer lamb to a roasting pan and rub it all over with the remaining oregano paste. Let it stand for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Put oven rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 450°F.
• Roast lamb for 30 minutes.
• Prepare vegetables while lamb is roasting:
• Cut each onion lengthwise into eighths, and halve potatoes or quarter if large. Toss onions, potatoes, and carrots with 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Scatter vegetables (not including asparagus) around lamb in the pan, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and roast lamb until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of thickest part of roast registers 130°F for medium-rare meat (test temperature in several places), 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer lamb to a platter and tent loosely with foil, then let it stand for 30 minutes.
• While lamb is standing, increase oven to 450°F, then stir vegetables in pan, and continue to roast until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Toss asparagus with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/8 teaspoon salt, and scatter among roasted vegetables, then continue to roast until asparagus is just tender, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer vegetables with a slotted spoon to a serving dish, and keep warm, loosely covered. Reserve roasting pan.
• For sauce:
• Skim any fat from the pan drippings in roasting pan, and set roasting pan over 2 burners over medium-high heat. Add wine and deglaze the pan by boiling the liquid, scraping up the brown bits, for 1 minute. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan, then boil until reduced by half (to about 1/3 cup). Add chicken stock and any juices that have accumulated on the platter, and boil the sauce until reduced to about 2 cups. Reduce heat to a simmer.
• Stir the cornstarch mixture, then add it to simmering sauce; continue to simmer sauce, stirring, for 1 minute. Season sauce with salt and pepper and keep it warm.
• Discard the strings from the lamb, then carve lamb into thin slices on a cutting board and serve it with sauce and vegetables.

LAMB CHOPS WITH BLACKBERRY PAN SAUCE AND ARUGULA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Season lamb chops with a 5-finger pinch of salt on all sides as well as black pepper. Heat a large sauté pan (not non-stick) over high heat and add canola oil. Once the oil shimmers when you tilt the pan (this means it's sizzling hot), add the chops in a single layer (sear in 2 batches, if necessary, to avoid overcrowding the pan). Sear until chops are well browned, and beginning to char around edges, about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer to a baking sheet (reserve pan and drippings) and continue to cook in oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the chop registers 145° for medium-rare, about 5 minutes.
• If necessary, pour off excess fat from pan to equal about two tablespoons (this might not be necessary, depending on the fat content of the chops). Add shallot and rosemary to pan over medium-low heat and cook, frequently stirring to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add about 1 cup of the blackberries (reserving a few for the salad), and cook until softening and releasing their juice, about 3 minutes. Add wine and increase heat to medium. Cook until wine is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and swirl in butter and season with scant 1/2-teaspoon salt.
• Arrange arugula on a large platter. Mix lemon juice with olive oil in a small bowl with the remaining 1/2-teaspoon salt. Drizzle over arugula and toss gently with reserved blackberries. Place lamb chop on top of the arugula and spoon the pan sauce over the chops and some of the arugula.
• Pair with a rich and full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon from Tom Gore Vineyards.

BABY LAMB CHOPS WITH PARSLEY AND MINT PESTO DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat grill pan or large heavy skillet over medium high to high heat.
• In a food processor, combine parsley, mint, garlic, almonds, cumin, coriander and pulse until mixture is finely chopped. Add a little salt and pepper and vinegar to the processor and turn it back on. Stream in extra-virgin olive oil until a sauce forms. Stop processor, taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to a small bowl using a rubber spatula.
• Drizzle chops with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill for 3 to 5 minutes on each side for medium rare to medium well doneness. Arrange chops around the dipping sauce and serve.