Lamb Chops with Garlic, Anchovies and Capers Vinaigrette (And Croutons)

Prashant Chandra
Jul 1, 2020
6 min read

Serving Size - 2 People

Cooking time - 20 to 30 Minutes

Frenching - 20 to 30 Minutes (Optional)

Brining Prep - 5 Minutes

Brining Time - 1 to 2 Hours (Minimum) (In the Fridge)

So one of the things I get to observe among the Keto followers and the recipes on the internet, is that there is really a great effort in the dishes to bring the carb count to zero (or near it). I have a slightly different take on this. After all, you do have a daily quota of 30-40 grams carbs that are allowed during Keto. So why missout on some amazing crunch and dimensions to your food experience by using the carbs element smartly. This dish, for example, makes use of bread croutons to add a dimension to the dish which is otherwise would be short of its full eating experience. I have done the math and I can say with some confidence that total carbs in these croutons is under 4 Grams. How? Simply because I used 1/2 serving of these and each serving (according to the information on the Jar) has about 7-8 Grams. That's it. Even with the use of a Carbs element, I am still well under my daily quota of 30-40 Grams of Carbs. That, combined by the fact that I will have my workout some 2 hours after having this, puts me confidently in green in terms of Keto state. So, in my mind, the benefits of adding this Carbs element in the dish in terms of taste and texture, far outweigh the detriments - In fact, I think there are none. Still, if you are not convinced with this theory, making this dish completely without carbs is as simple as not making these croutons and putting them in the dish. The Lamb with the Vinaigrette and the Veggies are delicious on their own.

Lamb Chops with Garlic, Anchovies and Capers Vinaigrette (And Croutons)

The main reference for this Recipe was Gordon Ramsey's Lamb Chops. But then, as usual, I did a few things differently.

One thing about this dish is that the ingredients are on a rather expensive side. Personally, I cook something like this only once in a while, when I feel like cooking something exotic and special. I live in India and some of the ingredients here are not produced locally and are therefore imported. One good example of this is canned Anchovies. They are ridiculously expensive in the India stores. One TINY 50 gm box cost me close to INR 600. That's close to 8 USD just for the Anchovies! Roughly half box will be used in this recipe. Another example is the real Parmigiano-Reggiano that obviously needs to be imported; It is quite expensive to procure. Then some other ingredients like the Capers and a premium quality Olive Oil are also on the expensive side. All-in-all, I would estimate that this recipe will cost you INR 600-800 per person which is pretty high from home cooking standards but if you think of it as a substitute to a up-scale dish at a Fine DIning restaurant, this will be at-least 50% cheaper.

Another thing we should discuss before we get going with the recipe is about the Frenching the Lamb Chops. Although I have cooked Chops before, I never really tried the Frenching technique. So I wanted to give it a shot - specially because I was using some premium ingredients and wanted to make sure that the execution and plating of the dish respect that fact. One should do the Frenching step only if they see the worth. It is completely aesthetical and makes no difference to the Flavours of the Recipe. Frenching adds a good 20-30 minutes to the cook. Although, towards the end of my trial, I discovered the most efficient way of doing it with scissors method. But then if you are cooking at home, you probably don't want to bother. I will be covering my preferred technique of Frenching Chops later in the Techniques section of this

website. For now, let's get going with the Recipe.

Ingredients

Lamb Chops - 4
Butter - 50 gm
Garlic Cloves - 5 (Chunky size)
Fresh Rosemary - 1 Twig
Olive Oil - 50 ml
Fresh Parsley - A small bunch
Brined Capers - 1 and 1/2 Tbs
Brined Anchovies - 2 or 3
Unsalted Peanuts - 1/4 Cup
Red Wine Vinegar - 25 ml
Bread Croutons - 3 (I used store bought)
Milk - 2 Tbs
Salt - 2 Tbs (For the Lamb Chops Brine)
Peppercorns - 4-5 (For the Lamb Chops Brine)
Cloves - 2-3 (For the Lamb Chops Brine)
Bay Leaf - 1 (For the Lamb Chops Brine)
Salt and Pepper - For seasoning
Rocket leaves - As much as you like

Method - Lamb Chops

Before the actual cook, you have to Brine the chops. This is different from Gordon Ramsey's Recipe but I am a big fan of brining and marinating meats before cook. It will season the chops nicely and keep them really juicy during the cook.

So, Brining is extremely simple. Take any container that can hold enough liquid to submerge the 4 Chops. If you are making more than 4, you will adjust this and everything accordingly. Add water to the container and mix-in a good amount of salt. Some 2 Tbs. Add Peppercorns, Cloves and Bay Leaf into the liquid and give it a good stir. Make sure all Salt is well dissolved. Add the Chops, close the container and pop into the fridge for Minimum 1 hours, Maximum upto an overnights duration.

For the main cook, first thing you need to do is to turn your oven on and bring it to a temperature of 60 Degree (Celcius). We are not going to cook anything in the oven but we will use it to rest our chops in a warm environment till the time of Plating.

Now, take a Pan and melt Butter in it on medium heat. Throw the Rosemary twig and the Chunky Garlic into the Butter. You don't have to peel the Garlic. Don't bother about it as the peel will easily come off on its own at the time of pounding. That's very convenient. Let the butter come to a sizzle and then place the Lamb Chops, distributing them evenly. Now, leave them like that for 5 minutes. Do not turn them. Let the caramelization fully develop on one side first. For these 5 minutes, you can move away from the pan. In fact, this is a good time to get started on you Vinaigrette.

After 5 minutes (by the timer), when you return to the Chops, they must be enthusiastically sizzling away in the pan. Take a moment and enjoy the sight and sound of it. It is mesmerising. Now, we are ready to turn the Chops. Carefully turn each of the Chops over to the other side. While on the first side we stepped away from the pan, on the second side we can't even blink (so to speak). As soon as you turn them over, start Basting the Chops continuously for 3 minutes. If you do not know what Basting is, it is basically taking the sizzling Butter from the pan and pouring it over the Meat in a repeating manner. It is a very fun process. Just make sure that you thoroughly Baste each Chop and pour that flavoured butter into each and every nook-and-cranny of the Meat. After exactly 3 minutes (by the timer), take the pan off the heat, pick the Garlic Cloves outform the pan (we need them for our Vinaigrette) and pop the pan into the 60 Degrees oven that we have already pre-heated. Let the Lamb rest for a minimum 10 minutes, inside the oven. This is the perfect time to finish the Vinaigrette (if you haven't already) and prepare for plating.

Method - Vinaigrette

Take a Mortar and Pestle and throw in the Garic we used to cook our Chops. They should be nice and charred by now and smelling amazing. Pound the cloves. The peel will come right off. Discard the peel and continue pounding. We want to keep everything rather chunky. So do not pound all the way into a paste. After that, add the Capers. Add Fresh Parsley. Pound. Add the Anchovies. Pound. Add Peanuts. Pound. Add all of the Olive Oil and mix. Add 1 Tbs of Red Wine Vinegar and mix. You are done!

Plating

Take the Rocket leaves and toss them into a Tbs of Vinaigrette that we just made. Place them in the middle. Take your Lamb Chops (2 per plate for 2 servings) and place them on top of the Rocket leaves in a manner that pleases you. Now pour some of the Burnt Butter, in which we cooked our Chops, on top of the Chops. Take some of the Vinaigrette and pour it around the central moud of Rocket leaves and Lamb. FInally, place your Bread croutons in a manner that they work with your composition. Be creative and have fun :)