Thursday 19 March 2009

A green supper

It might only be temporary, but it certainly looks like spring has sprung out there. Which puts me in the mood to cook things like this:

Lamb chops, real mint sauce, lemon quinoa

Coriander seeds
Lamb chops
Garlic
Maldon salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Mint
Lemon
Quinoa
Parsley
Green chilli

Pound some coriander seeds in a pestle and motar, throw in a fat clove of garlic, a pinch of Maldon salt and pepper – and pound, pound, creating a paste. Rub this paste into the meat, along with a generous slosh of olive oil. Cover and leave in the fridge for an hour or so.
Meanwhile, pick the leaves from a large, bushy bunch of mint and tip into a food processor. Add a small clove of garlic, a squeeze from a half a lemon, a pinch of salt, black pepper and a good couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Whizz until smooth-ish. I always put this in a separate bowl on the table, for people to help themselves. It looks so pretty.
Tip the quinoa into a sieve and rinse well with running cold water. Heat some olive oil in a heavy saucepan and tip in the quinoa. Cook, stirring briskly, on a high heat for a minute. Pour in some boiling water (from the kettle) – enough to cover the quinoa amply. Put the lid of and simmer for about ten minutes – the quinoa grain must loosen itself from its case. Keep checking that it doesn’t dry out.
Zest a whole lemon, and finely chop plenty of flat-leaf parsley. Stir the zest and parsley through the quinoa while its hot, with a slosh of olive oil.
Meanwhile heat the grill to hot, and grill the chops for 5 mins on each side – or less, or more, depending on how you like them.
Serve chops with the quinoa and a big spoonful of the mint sauce (you need loads of it).

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