This week guest chef Jay Brown comes along with a lamb recipe that looks like it might be good enough to make you hit your grandma. Now I don’t cook a lot of lamb myself. Mostly because I’m not a huge fan of it. I don’t mind an occasional chop or leg of lamb if highly seasoned and cooked well. I love curried lamb and ground lamb but most of the time I stick to the three that made us free, beef, pork and yard strutter with a little fish thrown in. Of course I don’t have an allergic reaction to lamb and I don’t treat it like I would a French leper. Besides, Mrs. Smilin’ Paul loves lamb and so it is not a completely foreign element in the happy Hacienda.

Having that background in mind then, I give you this dish, courtesy of the ever talented and usually reticent Jay Brown.

MINT DIJON LAMB

2 lamb chops per person. My butcher cuts them about 2" thick for me
1 White onion diced small
1 ea. red and green bell pepper diced small
fresh mint for garnish
Dijon Mustard (small jar)
sliced mushrooms
vegetable stock
heavy cream
butter
(mint jelly)
Mrs. Dash original

Pre heat oven to 350`
Cut excess fat from chops, and place in hot cookware with 1 tblspn olive oil.
brown the fat real well, and remove from pan. (flavor for the sauce)
lightly salt and pepper the chops and place in cookware, and lightly brown on all sides and edges (about 30-45 seconds per side)
remove the chops from cookware, and place in oven safe cookware
place in oven while you make the sauce.
Add onion, (garlic if you like), bell peppers, ½ tsp Mrs. Dash, saute until well cooked. *deglaze the cookware with 1 cup white wine, and after well steamed, add 2 cups vegetable stock, and small jar of Dijon Mustard. Simmer for about 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup heavy cream, mushrooms. and 2 Tlbsp butter.
(I have used both fresh mint, and mint jelly for this dish) Those of you who like mint jelly with your lamb, can add about 1 heaping Tblsp of jelly to the sauce at this point, or ½ cup fresh mint. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes.)
I have made a roux to thicken the sauce. (equal parts butter and flower cooked in small saute pan, stir constantly until you achieve the desired color and consistency or it will burn, burnt roux rouxins your dish…)

The total cooking time for the chops in the oven is about 25-30 minutes for medium rare. (unless you over browned them)

Serving: place pasta, or rice in middle of plate, place two chops on top, spoon sauce around pasta or rice, and a small amount on top of chops. garnish with sprigs of mint serve with any vegetable.

*deglaze. To release the flavors stuck to the bottom of the cookware*

"Good Eaten on Ya"

Jay


Smilin' Paul Villa U.S. Senate 2010
cyber-Congressman, R-Reno
Proud Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and 2 SUV Family