Chops are easy to cook, fast and reliable – the meat is so tender and yielding that it takes little effort to inject it with flavour to make it taste even more delicious. I like to use bone-in chops – meat cooked on the bone always has more flavour and is less likely to dry out, plus there is something lovely about gnawing at the spent bones on your plate. The length of time that they occupy the grill or pan is determined by the thickness of the chops, but it is essential to render down the fat until it’s beautifully amber.
Glazed lamb chops with cauliflower, almond and date salad (pictured above)
Sweet with dates, sour with tamarind and rounded off with earthy spice, this sticky marinade is simple to make but gives rich and complex flavour.
Prep 20 min
Marinate 2 hr+
Cook 50 min
Serves 4
8 lamb cutlets or rib chops, French trimmed (ie, with most of the fat removed and several inches of the bones exposed and cleaned)
For the marinade
75g date molasses
2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp toasted cumin, coarsely ground
1 tsp cinnamon
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
For the salad
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
1 tsp tfennel seeds, toasted
½ tsp pul biber
1 banana shallot, peeled and sliced into very thin crescents
5 medjool dates, thinly sliced
Olive oil, to drizzle
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Labneh or thick Greek yoghurt, to serve
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put the lamb in a shallow bowl. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl, pour this over the lamb and massage it in so the chops are well coated. Marinate for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.
In the meantime, make the salad. Lay the cauliflower in a roasting pan and scatter over the coriander and fennel seeds, pul biber flakes, sea salt and pepper, then drizzle over the olive oil. Roast for 40 minutes, turning once, until the cauliflower is golden and charred.
In a bowl, toss the cooked cauliflower with the dates, shallot, olive oil and lemon zest and juice.
Get a griddle pan very hot, then cook the lamb cutlets for three minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking. Make sure to prop up and cook the fatty side, too, so it gets golden and seared.
Serve with the cauliflower salad and a dollop of labneh.
UK readers: click to buy these ingredients from Ocado
Spicy yoghurt pork chops with coconut, mint, coriander and lime sambal
This Indian spiced yoghurt marinade doesn’t just add incredible flavour to the chops, it makes them beautifully tender, too.
Prep 20 min
Marinate 5 hr+
Cook 10 min
Serves 4
4 pork chops (about 250g each)
For the marinade
1 handful coriander, roughly chopped
1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped,
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 thumb fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander seeds, the seeds from 3 cardamom pods, ¼ tsp peppercorns, 1 black cardamom pod, all roasted, then ground together
Juice of 1 lime
Salt, to taste
For the sambal
150g freshly grated coconut (you can also buy this frozen)
1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 banana shallot
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
To make the sambal, simply blend all the ingredients together in a food processor to make a smooth paste, adding a little water if necessary. Refrigerate until needed.
Make the marinade by blending the coriander, mint, garlic, ginger and chilli together in a food processor till you have a smooth paste. Put the yoghurt and tomato puree into a bowl and fold in the blended paste. Add the spices, season with salt and pour in the lime juice and mix till well combined. Slather all over the chops and leave to marinade for at least 5 hours but preferably overnight.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 and put a griddle pan on a high heat. Once the pan is hot, grill the chops for 90 seconds on each side, until they have good char lines, then transfer to a baking tray and roast for about five – seven minutes, depending on thickness, until the meat is just cooked. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving with the sambal.
UK readers: click to buy these ingredients from Ocado
