LAMB
grilled lamb chops with ground ivy chimichurri and crushed jersey royals
Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is a wonderful foraged plant, abundant in woods, hedgerows, and gardens across the UK.
It’s incredibly aromatic with a flavour likened to a combination of mint and sage, so I thought this would be great in a chimichurri sauce to accompany lamb. Of course you can just replace with mint and sage if you haven’t or can’t find any ground ivy.
When you have young lamb you don’t need to do much to it as it’s natural flavour and sweetness is just beautiful. I’ve paired mine with seasonal jersey royal potatoes and courgette.
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 chunky lamb chops
300g Jersey royal potatoes
1 courgette – peeled into ribbons
Knob of butter
1 lemon – juiced
50g peas
For the chimichurri:
A handful freshly picked ground ivy – or a mixture of fresh mint and sage leaves – finely chopped
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider or white wine vinegar
1 shallot – finely diced
Salt
Black pepper
Half a green chilli – finely diced – optional
1 clove garlic – crushed
Method
Half an hour before you plan to cook take the chops out of the fridge to get to room temperature.
Bring a pan of generously salted water to the boil and simmer your potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender. Scoop out the potatoes and set aside. Leave the pan on the boil for the peas later.
For the chimichurri, mix all the ingredients together and set aside.
Heat a griddle pan and rub a little olive oil, salt and pepper on your chops. When hot add your chops to the pan and cook for 3 minutes each side for a pink chop. Place on a plate and cover with foil, allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Whilst the chops are resting, throw the cooked potatoes into the same pan with a knob of butter and crush the potatoes a little. Fry on a high heat to crisp them up.
Add the peas to the boiling water and cook for one minute, drain.
Put your crushed potatoes onto a platter with the courgette ribbons. Pour over the lemon juice, a glug of olive oil and scatter over your peas. Season with salt and pepper.
Place your lamb chops on top and spoon over your chimichurri. Eat immediately!
