Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times - Mark Bittman [83]
CUMIN-RUBBED LAMB CHOPS WITH CUCUMBER SALAD
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 1 HOUR, LARGELY UNATTENDED
LAMB CHOPS ARE among the best meats to grill; although they tend to catch fire, they cook so quickly—three minutes per side is usually more than enough—that there is no time for them to char, and the fire makes the exterior even crisper than it might be otherwise. The cucumbers are best if they’re salted, which removes some of their bitterness and makes them extra-crisp. Start with one or two Kirby (small) cucumbers per person—or half of a medium cucumber or about a third of a long (“English”) cucumber.
About 1½ pounds cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
2 lemons
4 shoulder or leg lamb chops or 12 rib or loin chops (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon cumin, preferably freshly ground
1. Put the cucumber slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt, just a little more than if you were planning to eat them right away. After 15 to 30 minutes, preheat a grill or broiler; put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source.
2. When the fire is hot, press the cucumbers to extract as much liquid as possible and toss them with the mint and the juice of one of the lemons. Rub the lamb chops with salt, pepper, and cumin and grill for about 3 minutes per side for rare, turning once.
3. Serve each of the lamb chops on a bed of the cucumber salad. Quarter the remaining lemon and serve it to squeeze over the lamb.
BROILED LAMB CHOPS WITH MINT CHUTNEY
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 30 MINUTES
ASPARAGUS MAY INTRODUCE spring, but mint screams it. The perennial herb is among the first edible greens out of the ground, and it’s rampant enough to be considered a weed for those who aren’t fond of it. Team it with lamb and you have a model spring dish.
Juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, peeled
One ½-inch-long piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Fresh or dried chile to taste
½ cup whole-milk yogurt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1 cup fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 shoulder or leg lamb chops or 12 rib or loin chops (about 1 pound)
1. Preheat a grill or broiler to moderately hot; put the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.
2. Meanwhile, make the chutney: Combine the lime juice, garlic, ginger, chile, yogurt, and sugar in a food processor or blender and puree. Stir in the mint by hand, then add salt and pepper to taste.
3. When the chutney is ready, grill the chops for 3 to 4 minutes per side, by which time they will be medium-rare, or until they reach the desired degree of doneness. Serve the lamb chops with the chutney.
GRILLED LAMB RIBS
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 30 MINUTES
IF YOU DON’T see lamb ribs in your supermarket, the chances are that they’re being tossed. Both demand and profit are evidently so slim that they are not worth processing and putting out in the case. Which is a shame, because next to pork (spare) ribs, lamb ribs are the best down-and-dirty grill item I know. They’re also the cheapest. Where I live, it’s hard to pay more than a dollar a pound for them.
Like spareribs, lamb ribs are the bones of the breast, separated into individual pieces. The supermarket meat department or butcher may give you the entire breast, or he may separate the ribs for you. If he does not, be sure to ask him to at least remove or cut through the breastbone, which will make cutting in between the ribs fast and easy.
Lamb ribs require special treatment while grilling, because they are loaded with fat (this is one of the reasons they taste so good, of course). You can grill them very slowly or (my preference) parboil the ribs just for ten minutes or so, long enough to render enough of the fat so that it doesn’t catch fire the instant you put the