Lamb Chops in Mint
Posted
Sun, 08/10/03
It took me the longest time to get Wilbert to try lamb. Before I met him, he'd never tasted leg of lamb, or a lamb chop for that matter. This is from a man who grew up in a household where menudo and barbecoa de cabeza were common meals. (Menudo, for those of you who don't know, is tripe soup; and in Wilbert's family, barbecoa de cabeza is another term for cooked cow head – literally). So I find his reluctance to try a dish he's never tasted before rather comical – after picking the flesh from a cow's head and eating it, how can he be fastidious? By the way, I've never cooked the aforementioned delicacies for him, and never intend to do so.
Last March we had St. Patrick's Day dinner at my cousin Sheila's home, when she prepared leg of lamb. While I like the chops, I'm not a big fan of rare meat in any form, including lamb. But Wilbert took a liking to it, and even carted some home to try a "cold lamb sandwich" as he'd seen depicted in the film Meet Joe Black. Wilbert used regular mustard as a condiment rather then the Grey Poupon used in the movie. He quite liked the concoction, and I was pleasantly surprised.
While growing up I had small lamb cutlets on a regular basis at least twice a month, but they were always fully cooked and accompanied by mint jelly. However, tonight I prepared four lamb shoulder blade chops, seasoned with a bit of rosemary and garlic. I cooked them slowly – and fully - in a frying pan. I also chose Crosse & Blackwell's mint jelly to serve with the lamb, along with steamed broccoli and thinly-sliced and fried potatoes with salt, black pepper and butter.
Wilbert loved the lamb cutlets, and even enjoyed the mint jelly. He was so taken with the meat, he prepared his lunch for work using – what else? – cold lamb on sourdough bread, this time slathered with mint jelly.
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