More spice and switching chops: spiced veal chops

I warned you there was gonna be a whole lot of spice in the entries this week, didn't I? So, don't say you weren't warned. This one is actually the tale of a simple recipe, modified. I recommend it highly.

It was total coincidence that the week I decided to make the Malaysian style boar stew I wrote about last time, I found a recipe for "spiced lamb chops." The Guyman and I love lamb - I would venture to say that it's his favorite meat. It's also Woodstock's favorite, and Annalena can chow down on baby ram along with the best of them. And since the recipe made her feel like she was "exotic," it was an immediate keeper.

Just one thing got in the way, or two if you want to be precise. One was, Annalena had already thawed veal chops for dinner this week, and two was, Annalena forgot to stop by Karen's farm at the Farmer's Market and buy some of her wonderful lamb.

See, I had thawed the chops before I found this recipe, and I had planned to cook them in my usual style: bread them, pan fry them and finish them in the oven, perhaps with a sauce built on a wine or sherry reduction, or make an arugula and tomato salad, and serve them "milanese style." Then, the mind started racing...."I wonder... Hmmmm." And the spiced lamb chops... became spiced veal chops.

This was truly an excellent meal, in my opinion. If you do not or will not eat veal, stick with the lamb chops. Honestly, I think this would work wonderfully with chicken legs as well. I smile as I say you might even consider using the yogurt mix as a vegetable dip or something like that. It is that good.

Ok, let's get to work. First, turn your oven up to the broil selection. This time, Annalena DID have all the spices in her larder. You will need 8 whole cloves (why they call for strange numbers like this, I will never know: was it not strong enough with 7? Too strong with 9?), and 2 small dried chilies. The wonderful Mr. Dave from the farmers' market had given me a bag of cayenne peppers which he had dried himself, and I used two of those. That makes for a dish with a kick. Use a more mild chile, or just one, if you don't want that much heat. Also, 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, a quarter teaspoon of peppercorns. Mix these and over a low heat, saute' them in a small pan, until you see them darken. Immediately move them away from the heat and then, put all of these into that spice grinder I told you about (the old burr coffee bean grinder. It will take a few minutes to break everything down, especially the chilies, but it will happen. Put this in with about 1/3 -1/2 cup of yogurt AND DO NOT USE THE LOW FAT KIND. Use plain, full fat yogurt. You need to do this, first of all, to carry the spices and second of all, under the intense heat of the broiler, the fat in the yogurt helps it hold together. To the spiced yogurt, add two teasppons of freshly ground ginger. Stir this all together.

If you are using lamb chops, you have enough of the yogurt for 8 small rib chops. You probably have enough for four full chicken legs, and you have enough for two large veal chops. Spread the stuff out over the meat you're using, on both sides. Let it sit, at room temperature , for about half an hour.

What will happen during this time is the acid in the yogurt will break down the meat proteins just enough to let the spice flavor get carried into it a bit. If you have paid attention and used whole milk yogurt, it will stay put.

Get the chops into a pan that is broiler safe (you will know), and then get them into the oven. For lamb chops, you need about three minutes to a side for a medium rare chop, which is about as much as you want to cook good lamb. For veal, we did four minutes a side, and had RARE chops, the way we like them. I would think you'd need 5-6 minutes a side for chicken legs.

I would not do this with chicken breasts, because I think the broiler would dry them out too much.

The yogurt "cooks" in the heat to a thick, slightly tan paste, that does not come off of the meat and will go to your mouth with every bite. That first bite will make you wake up a bit, because of the chilies. You'll find, however, that it's not too bad. And it's an easy recipe.

Most folks do not eat lamb chops, or veal chops too often, so making them "per se" would be regarded as a treat. This is even more interesting. But if you are in the habit of serving chicken often, try this. It will be even better and a real surprise to your family and friends