Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times - Mark Bittman [84]
Any brushing sauce or spice rub you like is suitable here. My choice is a sweet but pungent amalgam of raw onion, strong mustard, and honey, marmalade, or maple syrup.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 to 5 pounds lamb breast, cut into ribs
¼ cup honey, orange marmalade, or maple syrup
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 small onion, peeled
1. Preheat a grill or broiler to moderately hot; put the rack at least 4 inches from the heat source. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Put in the lamb and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Drain the ribs. Grill or broil them for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice and sprinkling them with a little salt and pepper. Meanwhile, combine the honey, mustard, and onion in a blender and whiz until smooth.
3. When the ribs begin to brown, brush them with the sauce and continue to cook, watching carefully so they do not catch fire. When they are brown and crisp all over—a matter of no more than 10 or, at the most, 15 minutes—remove from the grill and serve.
VARIATIONS
Once you’ve tracked down a source for lamb ribs, the options for what to do with them are almost endless:
• Rub the parboiled ribs with any spice rub, such as chili or curry powder, before grilling.
• Cook the ribs unadorned, then serve with a light drizzle of ½ cup fresh lemon juice and hot sauce and salt to taste.
• You can make a fast, more typical barbecue sauce like this: Combine 1 cup ketchup with 1 tablespoon each Worcestershire sauce and chili powder; ¼ cup each red wine vinegar and minced onion; 1 garlic clove, minced; and salt and pepper. Combine this mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until warm, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then use as directed.
• Serve them with pesto: Make a light pesto of fresh basil, cilantro, or parsley, blending together about 2 tablespoons of oil to 1 cup of leaves, along with salt, a garlic clove, and enough water to make the mixture creamy. Don’t brush the ribs with this mixture, but pass it at the table.
• Serve them with salsa: See here or, for example, combine about ½ cup chopped onion or scallion with 2 large tomatoes, chopped, and a little minced garlic, some cayenne or paprika, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and salt, pepper, and fresh lemon or lime juice to taste. Pass at the table.
• Lamb and cucumber make a natural combination: Make a cucumber salsa by peeling, seeding, and chopping 2 cucumbers, then coarsely chopping them in a blender or food processor with fresh mint and salt to taste. Pass at the table.
• Lamb takes to fruit surprisingly well: Try making a fast mango relish by combining the chopped flesh of 2 mangoes (or peaches) with ½ cup minced onion, the juice of 2 limes, and salt, pepper, and chopped fresh cilantro to taste and passing at the table to accompany the lamb.
PORK
PORK CHOPS WITH MISO-RED WINE SAUCE
VIETNAMESE-STYLE PORK CHOPS
ROAST PORK CHOPS WITH FENNEL-ORANGE COMPOTE
SAUSAGE WITH GRAPES
KALE, SAUSAGE, AND MUSHROOM STEW
FORTY-MINUTE CASSOULET
SPARERIBS, KOREAN STYLE
BRAISED PORK WITH TURNIPS
ROAST PORK WITH APPLESAUCE
CRISPY PORK BITS WITH JERK SEASONINGS
THE MINIMALIST’S CHOUCROUTE
SLOW-GRILLED RIBS
CHINESE-STYLE SLOW-COOKED RIBS
PORK CHOPS WITH MISO-RED WINE SAUCE
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
TIME: 20 MINUTES
MISO IS A superb thickener, adding a rich, creamy consistency when whisked into a small amount of liquid. With that in mind, it’s the work of a moment to turn the pan juices remaining after searing a piece of meat into a great sauce. My choice here is pork for meat and red wine for liquid; the combination resulting from these three ingredients completely belies the amount of energy put into the dish.
Red miso (which is in fact brown) adds terrific color to the sauce and has the strongest flavor of all the misos; it’s also the easiest to