Grilled Yogurt Lamb Chops

In the midst of a furnace like heat wave it makes sense not to turn on the stove, but use the outside grill. Let that heat dissipate into the air rather than in the house! Lamb chops are the perfect vehicle for that mode of cooking. 

An aromatic marinade made with yogurt, fried onions, ginger garlic paste, roasted cumin seeds, garam masala and chile powder gets the lamb going. We like our lamb on the rarer side so it is two minutes flip and two minutes to brown on a hot grill. 

A squirt of lime, a fresh corn and tomato salad and a glass of crisp white...summer perfection!

GRILLED YOGURT LAMB CHOPS

Serves 2

8 Lamb Chops

1/4 cup Yogurt (whole or 2%)

2 tablespoons Birista or crisp fried Onions, crumbled 

2 tablespoons Ginger Garlic Paste

1 teaspoon roasted Cumin Powder

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1/2 teaspoon Chile Powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Lime Wedges

Trim chops of most of the fat. 

Whisk yogurt, crumbled birista, ginger garlic paste, all the powders and salt in a bowl. 

Add chops and marinate for 6 hours in the fridge. Overnight is best. 

Bring chops to room temperature. 

Heat grill.

Lay chops on grill. 

For medium rare chops,  grill for 2 minutes on each side. 

If you like your chops medium, grill for a minute more on each side.

You could also cook them on an indoor grill or frying pan. 

Pile on to a plate, squirt lime juice over them and enjoy them hot off the grill. 

The joy of a tasting a meal  that jumps off the grill and on to your plate is quite indescribable. Not having to cook in your kitchen on a hot day is ever better...

Peach Tart

Peach season is upon us once more. To celebrate this short but luscious period I endeavor to make many things peaches. Salads, hand pies, decadent tarts and the favorite, a just ripe fuzzy peach, dripping juices. As you can surmise, I love love peaches. 

Amanda Hesser is a redoubtable food writer and recipe developer. I plan to attempt her peach tart with a few amendments. I leave out the almond extract because I do not care for the flavor. I cut the quantity of streusel in half as my peaches are really sweet and juicy as I would like their flavor to pop, rather than be buried under a blanket of streusel.  The tart has an unusual but easy crust, just flour, olive oil, canola oil and milk combined with a fork and then patted into a thin crust. Sliced peaches are sprinkled with streusel topping and then baked. The result is temptation in a tart shell. Sliced and forked, the tart hits all the sweet spots.

PEACH TART

Adapted from Amanda Hesser

Serves 6

1 1/2 cups AP Flour

2 teaspoons Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 cup Canola Oil

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Milk

3 large Peaches

1/3 cup Sugar

2 tablespoons AP Flour

1 tablespoon cold Butter

Whisk flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. 

Mix oils and sugar in another bowl. Whisk well. 

Make a well in the flour mix.

Pour oils and milk into flour. Use a fork to gradually mix till the dough comes together. It will not be one cohesive mass, but that is okay as the dough is patted out into the tart pan.

Drop the dough into a 12" tart pan with a removable bottom. If you do not have one use and shallow baking dish. The removable bottom makes for a better presentation.

Pat the dough with your fingers, going all the way to the edge of the pan. 

Refrigerate dough for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 425F/220C.

Cut peaches into 1/4 inch slices.

Make streusel  by placing flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut butter into small bits and add to bowl. Use your fingertips to rub butter into flour/sugar mix till it looks gravelly.

Take tart out of the fridge. 

Lay peaches in two concentric circles, an outer and an inner layer.

Sprinkle streusel over peaches. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes till tart is bubbly and light brown. 

Cool tart for 5 minutes. Then push the tart out of the ring and set it on a platter. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

How many slices can we eat today? Should I show some restraint? Then again a crumbly crust, sugar sweet peaches with a browned crumble is too much to resist. 

Asian Noodle Bowl with Meatballs

What I crave in this sweltering heat is a room temperature or cold meal. The thought of eating a curry or anything with masala is off putting right now. So a cold noodle and salad bowl is just the ticket.

Cold thin noodles form a base. Marinate the meat while you make the pickled carrots and nuoc cham. Once everything is ready the salad bowl comes together easily. Sliced cucumber, marinated carrots, chopped romaine, fried onions, handfuls of Thai basil and mint make a fresh and crunchy salad topping. The meat eater is satisfied with small spiced  meatballs. Shallow fry the meat balls in the end as they make a delicious warm contrast to the cool noodles and salad. Lastly, the bowl is drenched in nuoc cham, a tangy sauce laden with chiles and garlic. Chopsticks and a hearty appetite is all you need!

ASIAN NOODLE BOWLWITH MEATBALLS

Serves 2

Meatballs

1/4 pound ground Beef

1 Shallot

2 Garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice powder

1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

1/2 teaspoon Molasses

1 teaspoon Chile Garlic Paste

1 tablespoon Canola Oil

Pickled Carrots

3 Carrots

1/4 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar 

Nuoc Cham

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Lime, juiced

1/4 cup warm Water

2 tablespoons Fish sauce

1 green Chile, thinly sliced

1 Garlic clove, minced

3 -4 cups cooked thin Angel Hair Pasta or Rice Noodles 

1/2 English Cucumber, thinly sliced

2 Romaine Leaves, chopped

1/2 cup Thai Basil leaves

1/2 cup Mint leaves

Fried Onions

Start meatballs by placing the beef in a bowl.

Make a rough paste with shallot, garlic and sugar by pounding it in a mortar and pestle. Add paste to beef. 

Add five spice powder, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, molasses and chile garlic paste to beef. Mix well and keep aside.

Fry meatballs just before serving. Form meat into two inch flat discs. 

Heat oil in a nonstick saucepan, Fry meat balls till brown on both sides.

Make pickled carrots by chopping them into thin matchsticks. Season with the 1/4  tsp sugar and salt. Massage them well and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then rinse them well. 

Make a dressing by mixing remaining sugar, lime juice and rice wine vinegar. Add carrots to dressing and keep aside.

Make nuoc cham by mixing sugar, lime juice, warm water and fish sauce. Add sliced chiles and garlic to sauce. Keep aside. 

Assemble bowls by mounding noodles in two bowls. 

Arrange cucumber, lettuce,carrots and fried onions over noodles. 

Scatter Thai basil and mint over noodles. 

Nestle meatballs on top of noodles. 

Spoon nuoc cham over noodles and dig in.

This makes the ideal meal on a warm sweaty day... takes me right back to snacking on Hanoi streets. 

Chicken and Pasta Bake

What do you do when you have a ton of chicken fingers? Drown them in an Indianish onion tomato pasta sauce. Sounds like a jumble...well... it really is messy looking. But I guarantee it tastes very appetizing.

Where does my inspiration come from? Aunty Elsa, a favorite relative, made this for us many moons ago. Call it her invention or concoction...it came together when she had leftover crumb chops. A quick sauce made with onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic and spices is thrown together with thin pasta. Use ready to cook chicken fingers or make some. Chicken fingers are the base. Covered with the pasta sauce and grated cheese, the dish is baked till everything is piping hot and the cheese gooey. An anytime meal.....

CHICKEN AND PASTA BAKE

Serves 4

1 pound breaded Chicken Fingers, fried and cooked (see note)

2 tablespoons Canola Oil

2 white Onions

4 Tomatoes

2 teaspoons Ginger Garlic Paste

1 green Chile

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon Chile powder

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Several grinds Black Pepper

4 nests of Fideos or 1/2 package Angel Hair Pasta (see notes)

Cilantro leaves

Amul Cheese or Cheddar Cheese or Fontina (see notes)

Cut onions into thin slices. 

Core and chop tomatoes.

Mince chiles finely. 

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

Add onion to hot oil and saute till brown. 

Add green chile and G/G paste into onions. Saute for 30 seconds.

Drop tomatoes into onions. Stir well. Cover and cook over low heat till tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens.

Stir turmeric and chile powders to sauce, mixing well.

Season with salt and pepper.

Heat water in a large pot. When it boils add a little salt. Drop fideos into water and cook for 1 minute. Drain and add to sauce. 

Check for seasoning. 

Heat oven to 300F/150C.

Arrange chicken fingers in a shallow baking dish.

Top chicken with sauce, making sure to cover most of chicken.

Cut cilantro and scatter it over sauce. 

Grate cheese over sauce, enough to roughly cover the surface.

Cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Uncover and enjoy!

NOTES

Use premade breaded chicken tenders for convenience. But if you would like to make them, drop seasoned chicken tenders into beaten egg, then coat with breadcrumbs and shallow fry till golden brown. Or use this recipe replacing chicken thighs with tenders.   

I use Amul cheese as it is the quintessential Indian addition as the recipe has an Indian bent.. Feel free to add any mild cheese like Cheddar or Fontina.

Fideos are a new discovery. They cook fast and are toothsome. Angel Hair pasta would work as well. 

My leftovers make a lovely brunch, lunch, linner or dinner...Indianish and so tasty.