Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic and Caper Sauce and a Spring Salad

Elegant spring supper for 4. Grilled lamb chops or cutlets with asparagus, new potato and mint salad and fresh garlic dressing.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 8 lean lamb chops
  • 300ml whole milk
  • 2 bulbs of fresh new season garlic, peeled
  • 2-3 teaspoons capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon English mustard
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and blanched
  • 900g small new potatoes, cooked and quartered
  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 4 sprigs freshly chopped or torn mint

Method

  1. First of all, in a smallish saucepan put the milk and the garlic on a high heat. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a lively simmer. Cook for 25 minutes. Drain the garlic, reserving the liquid and blitz in a food processor smooth, adding enough milk to form a loose spooning sauce.
  2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the capers. Season well and set aside. If you want to you can add a spoonful of cream and a knob of butter. Some lightly caramelised softened onions added before blitzing is good too.
  3. To make the dressing combine 2 tablespoons of oil, vinegar, mustard and seasoning. It will be quite sharp, but persevere, it will mingle with the butter on the potatoes and asparagus softening it a little.
  4. Preheat the grill and bring a medium-sized saucepan filled with cold water to the boil. Place the chops on a chopping board and brush on both sides with the remaining oil. Season.
  5. Grill for no more than 5 minutes on each side. For a really tender lamb chop, you want them pink in the middle. The more give there is when you touch them with your finger the less cooked they are. A hot grill is absolutely vital though to get a nicely grilled outside without over cooking them. A hot griddle pan is good too. When the chops are done to your liking remove from the grill, transfer to a warm plate and cover with foil to rest.

Tips:

Recipe courtesy of Oliver Rowe