Lamb With Arugula Dipping Sauce Food

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.

QUICK LAMB RAGù

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have become translucent and have totally softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add a pinch of red-pepper flakes and anchovies, if using, and cook for a minute or two, just to toast the spices and melt the anchovies.
• Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring occasionally so it has a chance to stick to the bottom of the pot and caramelize a bit, 2 or 3 minutes.
• Add lamb and season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, stir lamb until the fat starts to soften and the meat begins to break down. Continue to cook, stirring rather frequently until the lamb begins to brown and sizzle in its own fat, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pot. Fill the tomato can halfway with water and swirl around to get all the remaining tomato, then add to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until sauce is thickened and insanely flavorful, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Serve sauce mixed into and over pasta with plenty of cheese for grating over the top, scattered with a small handful of marjoram, oregano or thyme leaves if you like.

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.