Nope.
:)
I can even count on one hand the number of times I've eaten lamb.
Whatevs. Honestly I'm not even the biggest fan. It certainly is a very rich, sumptuous, meat, but I can't say it's really my thing.
I do like it. But if I'm going to eat a really fatty red meat, I'd sooner have beef.
Anyway, for Easter this year (not really specifically planned for Easter, it just sort of coincided with Easter) I decided to cook a (kinda Greek, actually) feast of Lamb chops and fixins.
I've heard how to cook lamb, and I've seen it done. And had some pretty good roasted and open-fired lamb first-hand. So I felt adequately prepared to try cooking some myself.
I figured I'd just grill them on the stove, like I would any other 'chop' cut of meat.
And it turned out OK.
Lamb chops are surprisingly dainty. And their bones are startlingly brittle.
I found that even with delicate handling, they would almost come apart, and were very 'crumbly' for lack of a better word. I was actually a little worried about that to tell you the truth. I spent about five minutes meticulously removing the little bits of bone 'crumbs' before deeming them safe enough to eat.
They certainly looked attractive though, wouldn't you say? Very deep red in colour and a ton of rich flavour marbling.
So, because I wanted a lamb gravy to go along with this meal, I chose to just grill them in a pan.
Enter my trusty cast iron skillet.
A very simple seasoning of freshly cracked black pepper, and a pinch of gray sea salt.
After a very short amount of time (less than 5 minutes), they were done, and I was left with a gorgeous start to my gravy.
Look at all those tasty gribblies!
:)
So, I put a fair bit of chopped, and pureed, onion and garlic in there, along with a smidgen of olive oil.
After simmering for a few minutes, I added a bit of tarragon and some corn starch for thickening.
Why tarragon, you ask? That's a good question. One of my least favourite herbs to tell you the truth... but the wife positively loves the junk.
;)
So, a very thick vegetable tarragon gravy with some lamb... elements.
Meanwhile, my potatoes have been boiling for close to an hour by this point.
I wanted to cook these 'Greek' style, so peeled, huge, and boiled with some tomato.
And tarragon.
They turned out quite well, and were very delicious. And (despite the tarragon) they looked and tasted like Greek potatoes.
:)
And, after a quick steaming, some tarragon peas joined in the feast.
I actually didn't really mind the tarragon on the peas very much. I would be more inclined to use tarragon with green vegetables now that I think on it...
Anyway...
Such was our humble, quick and easy, Easter feast.
Everything was cooked very simply, and modestly, and it was good. Even if my plate did kind of look like a senior citizen's pre-bingo Sunday night binge.
Heh heh heh...
;)
