Turkish Lamb Chops Food

TURKISH LAMB CHOPS WITH SUMAC, TAHINI, AND DILL

Steps:

• Prepare the lamb:
• Combine the Turkish red pepper, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds in a small bowl. Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat, add the spice mixture, and toast until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mortar or spice grinder, add the salt and black pepper, and either pound or briefly grind until you get a coarse-textured spice mix. Don't overdo it if you've gone electric here-the coarse texture is an essential part of the dish.
• Pat the spice mixture all over the lamb chops, and let them marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or uncovered in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
• Make the tahini sauce:
• While the lamb is marinating, in a food processor, blend the lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Then add the tahini and ground cumin, and blend until a thick paste forms. With the processor running, gradually add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is smooth enough to drizzle.
• Heat a grill or broiler to high.
• Drizzle the chops lightly with olive oil. Grill the chops until they are charred on the outside and cooked to taste within (or broil the chops on a broiler pan or rimmed baking sheet). Cooking time will depend on how thick your chops are, so watch them carefully: 2-inch-thick bone-in chops will take at least 3 to 5 minutes per side for rare. You'll need less time for thinner chops, and more time if you like them cooked medium rare or beyond. Let the lamb rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, drizzle the tahini sauce over the chops, and garnish them with the dill sprigs. Add a dusting of the red sumac if you like.

SLOW-ROASTED TURKISH LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut lamb shoulder into 2 or 3 pieces, and place in a shallow 12-by-14-inch roasting pan or similar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with red pepper, if desired.
• Rub meat with olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Tuck thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves and onion halves here and there. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.
• Turn meat browned-side down and add 2 cups of water to the pan. Cover tightly with foil or lid. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Cook, covered, until meat is absolutely fork tender and beginning to fall apart, about 3 1/2 hours total. Uncover during last 30 minutes of cooking if you want to brown the meat a bit more.
• Remove meat to a cutting board. Pour pan juices into a skillet (discard herbs and garlic). Skim and discard excess fat from surface. Bring to a boil and simmer until about a cup remains.
• Chop or shred meat into 1-inch chunks or rough slices. Transfer to a warm platter and pour juices over. (Alternatively, leave meat in pan with reduced juices until ready to serve.) Garnish with persimmon and pomegranate (if using), parsley, mint and lemon wedges. Serve yogurt on the side.

TURKISH KEBABS

Steps:

• To make the marinade:
• Mix together the garlic, olive oil, tomato paste, spices, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
• To prepare the kebabs:
• Add the meat to the marinade and toss. Let marinate for at least 2 hours.
• Prepare a charcoal fire in an outdoor grill, switch on the gas if you have an outdoor gas grill, or preheat the broiler to high.
• Thread the meat onto 7 long skewers and the tomatoes onto an eighth one. Grill over high heat or broil 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the meat and tomatoes are done to your liking. Slip the meat and tomatoes off the skewers onto flatbread and serve immediately.

PAKISTANI LAMB CHOPS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown lamb chops on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Stir in green cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onions, garlic, and ginger; cook until onion is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in chile powder, turmeric, and salt; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add browned lamb, water, tomatoes, and chile peppers. Simmer over low heat until lamb is tender and all water has evaporated and onions have disintegrated into a thick gravy, about 40 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro.

TURKISH LAMB CHOPS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the onion with the salt; squeeze the juice out of the onion and discard it; add the oil and thyme to the onion; apply the mixture to both sides of the chops and marinate for 1 hour.
• Grill chops or broil close to heat source; season with salt and lots of pepper; garnish with lemon wedges.

TURKISH LAMB FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Mix the yeast and 250ml warm water in a small bowl, and leave to stand for 5-10 mins until foamy - this means the yeast is working. Put the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl (or use a tabletop mixer fitted with a dough hook and set at a low speed). Add the yeast mixture and mix by hand or machine until the dough comes together into a ball. If the mixture is too sticky to form a ball, add 2 tbsp flour and mix again. Knead for 12 mins by hand, or 8-10 mins on a high speed in the mixer, until smooth, then put in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat the dough in the oil, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 2-4 hrs until doubled in size. (You can also put it in the fridge overnight, punch down and let it rise again at room temperature.)
• Heat the oven to 240C/220C/gas 9. Put a baking sheet or pizza stone on the middle shelf. If you're using lamb leg meat, blitz it in a food processor until it's finely minced. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for 10 mins until golden. Add the lamb and cook for 5 mins or until brown, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, then pour off any excess oil. Add the spices, some seasoning, tomato purée, tomatoes and the pomegranate molasses, and cook for 5 mins more, mixing everything together well and breaking down the tomatoes with a spoon. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely. Can be done one or two days ahead.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle about 30 x 40cm. Sprinkle 1 tsp or so of the semolina on a baking sheet. Put the dough on top and make sure it can move around. Add the spicy lamb first, then top with the red onions, pine nuts and feta. Slide onto the heated baking sheet or pizza stone and cook for 10-15 mins until crisp on the bottom.
• Remove and drizzle with a little extra pomegranate molasses, then scatter over the parsley and pomegranate seeds. Transfer to a large board and cut into diamonds to serve.