Cookies Preferences
This was my recipe contribution from the Empowering Women through Cooking Lebanon cookbook with a gorgeous photograph by the talented Joelle Kanaan.
I wanted to choose something that reflected the kind of food Mediterranean flavors I work with as a restaurant consultant, but also a dish which is accessible to readers. It's the extra little effort that makes this dish so special, techniques like smoking the beets and adding a crumb for flavor at the end. These take food from everyday to the extraordinary and are not very difficult to master! I hope you'll give it a shot ❤️
12 individual lamb chops
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh zaatar
30g unsalted butter
for the cauliflower cream:
1 leek, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons zaatar
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
salt
50ml white wine
250ml vegetable stock
150ml cooking cream
pepper to taste
for the smoked beets:
4 beets, with their greens if possible
rosemary
for the Levantine crumb:
60g pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sumac
zest of one lemon
pistachio oil or olive oil
flaky sea salt
Rub olive oil, salt, pepper, and zaatar all over the lamb chops and allow to stay in the fridge for a couple of hours. Take them out and allow them to come to room temperature before grilling. Grill over hot coals for about 3 minutes each side and allow to rest under foil for about 5 minutes before serving.
In a medium pan allow cook the butter, leek, and thyme until they’re soft, about 10 minutes. Then add the cauliflower and cook for 7 minutes more over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the white wine, and crank up the heat and cook for 4 more minutes. Now add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cauliflower is soft, about 20 minutes. Finally add the cream and cook 5 minutes more. Strain off the liquid (but keep!) and place the solids in a food processor or blender, adding the cooking liquid as you need to make it a super smooth, light cream. Season with salt and pepper to your taste and keep warm.
Take a large sheet of heavy duty foil and lay the beets inside it on top of their greens. Drizzle with a little olive oil and arrange the rosemary on top. Tightly close the foil packet and using a fork, pierce it all over so that the smoke from the grill can permiate it. Place the foil packet on a grill that has some wood smoking chips, over moderate heat, close the lid and smoke for approximately 30 minutes. Set beet packet aside to cool. Then peel the beets and cut into a medium dice.
Mix together the pistachios, sesame seeds. Sumac, and lemon zest binding with a bit of pistachio oil or olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt.
To serve create a bed with the cauliflower cream, arranging 3 lamb chops on each plate, with a few pieces of diced smoked beet and sprinkle the whole plate generously with the Levant crumb.
