Lamb Chops with Green Herb Chutney & Grilled Asparagus

At least, the world’s best according to Planet Barbecue author Steven Raichlen. I have to say he may be right. His intro into this recipe for Lucknowi lamb chops was too alluring and challenging to pass up. How could you read the following and NOT make these chops?

“How far would you go to make what are arguably the world’s best lamb chops?” (Far, I tell ya! I would go real far!) “Are you willing to make a special trip to an Indian grocery store to pick up a few esoteric ingredients you probably won’t find at your local supermarket?” (Hell yes) “Are you willing to marinate the meat in two stages, one of which requires procuring either green papaya or a papaya-based meat tenderizer, like Adolph’s?” (Sure, why not?) Actually, I didn’t need to bother with this step as I thankfully can get my mitts on super tender lamb at our Farmer’s Market — hurrah!

And so I made the chops complete with the green herb chutney and his roasted eggplant salad with Jerusalem flavors. This is a stellar menu.

Eggplant Salad

Fresh Sugar Snap Peas

I didn’t follow my original menu as planned due to a lack of baby artichokes at the market and a bumper crop of fresh and sweet sugar snap peas. The meal, however, turned out even better than expected, except for the pork tenderloin with rhubarb chutney, which was as boring as can be. Don’t bother. Most definitely DO bother, however, with a fresh snap pea salad with burrata cheese. This has spring and summer written all over it. It’s well worth it to hunt down fresh burrata as this rich and delicate cheese makes the dish. I cannot wait to tuck into this summer salad again. And again. And again.

Pork Tenderloin with Rhubarb Chutney

Snap Pea Salad with Fresh Burrata