Loin Lamb Chops (Marinated)

Lamb, poor lamb. It is one of the most tender of meats but lots of people just don't like its flavor. In the summer, when I'm cooking for a crowd, Lamb Souvlaki is always a big hit. Some folks say, "I usually don't like lamb, but this is delicious!" Now why is that? Well, it's the marinade! The Greeks have been cooking lamb for millennia and they have perfected a beautiful marinade for lamb. In fact, I believe it is very lamb-centric. Beef Souvlaki is what you usually find at a restaurant, but I'm not sure the marinade works with beef. Chicken Souvlaki just makes me shudder. Sorry to those of you who replace everything with chicken ;)

Summertime Grilling Legs of Lamb for Souvlaki

Now let's consider the Lamb Loin Chops. They are those little T-bones, usually cut about an inch, or more, thick. They are succulent and tender and really can be grilled just as they are. Two chops makes a nice serving. Here I have combined the heavenly flavor of souvlaki marinade with these chops! You get a meal that can be thrown together very quickly, if you remember to marinate them overnight!

Ingredients:

This inexpensive Olive Oil works fine for marinade

4 thick loin lamb chops

Marinade:

1          lemon

1/4       cup      chopped green pepper

1/2       medium onion, chopped

1          clove    garlic, chopped

2          tsp        oregano

2          tsp        salt

1          tsp        pepper

1          cup      olive oil

Mix marinate ingredients together and pour over lamb chops in a container just large enough to hold them. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. 

Take out at least an hour before you're ready to cook them. Clean off marinade pieces.

They could be grilled, but this is not grilling season on the Niagara Frontier, so I will oven broil them. You should prepare your broil pan with some non-stick spray, although you probably won't need much, since the marinade oil coats the lamb so well.

Everybody's broiler is at a different height from the food, so my timing is for my broiler. Unless you put your rack real low, about 6 minutes per side should give you a perfectly even pink interior. You can check with an instant-read thermometer if you're worried.

My broiler height, the flash hid the flame! 

Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil, and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Here I have served each chop on a slab of feta. The flavors work very well. In the picture I have cooked some brown rice with small carrot dice and then stirred in some fresh parsley and freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Also shown are a couple spears of pineapple soaked in Grand Marnier. (Wintertime fruit!)

Serve with a crisp white Greek wine!

CHARLIE CAMPANELLE

Charlie Campanelle was my grandson’s closest friend, back when they were about 8 or 9 years old. When I saw Campanelle (little bells) pasta in the store one day, and also had a leftover strip steak to reinvent, I decided to make a dish named after Charlie and have him over for dinner. My grandson Sean loved the meal, but we were never able to schedule a dinner to feed it to Charlie! He’s moved away now, so it will be forever a meal never tasted by its epitome! This is a very savory and delicious dish. The sauce is not quite Italian, not quite beef stew, and it is not quite obvious that it hides leftovers! Certainly you could use any leftover meat with this: even add peas or beans!


Campanelle Pasta (bell)



Charlie & Sean when they were imps





Ingredients:



½ lb Campanelle pasta

4 Tbs Olive Oil

4 oz Pancetta, diced

½ Onion, minced

1 stalk Celery, diced

1 small Carrot, diced

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 shot Brandy

½ cup Dry Red Wine (something you would serve with steak)

4 Ripe Plum Tomatoes, peeled & chopped*

2 tsp dry Basil

1 Tbs Sugar

Freshly grated Nutmeg

1 Qt Beef Stock (preferably your own)

1 grilled Strip Steak

1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tbs Flour

2 Tbs soft Butter

¼ cup fresh Parsley, chopped

¼ cup fresh Basil, snipped into small pieces

Freshly Grated Pecorino Romano

Salt & Pepper

Most of the Ingredients

Method:

1 Dice pancetta and all vegetables, but keep garlic separate. Remove fat or gristle from the steak and slice into quarter-inch thick pieces.

Slice and Dice!

Bring oil to moderate heat in a deep fry pan. Sauté pancetta, onions, carrots and celery for about five minutes, stirring regularly. Now add garlic and stir for a few minutes.

Saute the pancetta & veggies

2 Add Brandy and let alcohol boil off, or ignite and burn it off. Add tomatoes, sprinkle with some salt and cook vigorously until they have completely broken down. (* This is not tomato season on the Niagara Frontier, so I have substituted a 1 pound can of high quality chopped tomatoes.)

break down tomatoes

3 Now add the wine, stock and Worcestershire and a little more salt if the stock is unsalted. Bring to a boil and add the meat, dry basil, nutmeg, sugar and some pepper. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for two hours.

Sauce ready to simmer

4 Meanwhile, mix butter and flour thoroughly to form a paste. Also snip fresh parsley and fresh basil.

Fresh Herbs and Butter-Flour

5 Toward the end of the simmer, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the Campanelle, cooking as advised on package (probably 10-11 minutes) but do not overcook or the bell shape will be lost!

6 Just before the pasta is finished, whisk the butter-flour paste into the sauce to thicken. Then add the fresh herbs and correct seasoning.

7 Drain the pasta and either add it to the sauce, mixing thoroughly and plate it this way, or place pasta on a large platter and pour the sauce over it.

Charlie Campanelle (the meal)

8 Serve with the same wine (I chose a lovely Barbera d’Asti here) and grate Pecorino Romano cheese over the dish.