Salt-Roasted Lamb Chops with Carrot, Zucchini and Curry Pasta
Lamb chops roasted in a salt crust, served with carrot and zucchini batons and curry-flavored pasta.
Ingredients
square lamb chops (boneless, keep the fat cap)
4
coarse salt (for making salt crust)
300 g
egg whites
2
flour (mixed with salt)
to taste
thyme (stemmed)
to taste
rosemary (stemmed and chopped)
to taste
water (for kneading dough)
to taste
curry powder (made the day before)
1 tsp
olive oil
4 cl + 2 tbsp
peanut oil (for searing bones)
2 tbsp
garlic
a few cloves
lamb bones and trimmings
to taste
onion (diced)
1
carrot (diced and cut into strips)
to taste
celery (diced)
to taste
butter (for sautéing vegetables and making sauce)
20 g + to taste
bouquet garni
1 bunch
fresh breadcrumbs
to taste
flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
to taste
zucchini (cut into strips, use only skin-on parts)
to taste
pasta
to taste
cream (for making sauce)
to taste
basil leaves (chopped)
to taste
Instructions
1
Make salt crust dough
Put coarse salt, egg whites, flour, thyme, rosemary and water into a food processor and knead into a dough. Shape into a ball, refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2
Prepare the lamb chops
Debone the lamb chops, carefully trim off excess fat, keep the fat cap attached.
3
Make persillade
Mix fresh breadcrumbs, thyme and chopped parsley. Grind with an electric meat grinder, then sift.
4
Season the lamb chops
Season the inside of the lamb chops and the fat cap with salt and pepper, then coat evenly with persillade. Wrap the lamb chops with the reserved fat cap.
5
Make lamb sauce
Heat peanut oil in a frying pan, add lamb bones and trimmings, and sear over high heat until golden. Remove the bones, drain off the oil. Add diced onion, carrot, celery and 20g butter, sauté until fragrant. Add garlic cloves and bouquet garni, add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, add a little salt, then simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Strain, reduce to 6 cl. Strain again, add chopped basil, cover and set aside to rest.
6
Prepare vegetable strips
Cut carrots into strips 8cm long, 4mm wide and 1mm thick. Cut zucchini into strips of the same size (use only skin-on parts). Blanch in boiling salted water, rinse under cold water, then drain.
7
Wrap the salt crust
Preheat oven to 250°C. Roll the salt crust dough into a rectangle, place the prepared lamb chops on it, and wrap. Press the ends tightly, cut off excess dough. Brush the surface with egg wash (egg yolk + a pinch of salt + 1 tbsp water), sprinkle with remaining coarse salt, then brush with another layer of egg wash.
8
Roast the lamb chops
Place in the oven and roast for about 16 minutes. Insert a needle into the center to check the temperature, it should reach 52°C.
9
Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and 2 cl olive oil. Cook pasta until al dente, drain, put back in the pot and toss with the curry oil.
10
Finish the side dish
Quickly heat the carrot and zucchini strips in boiling salted water, drain and add to the pasta. Add butter and chopped basil, toss gently. Season with salt, drizzle with remaining curry oil.
11
Finish the sauce
Bring the lamb sauce to a boil, add cream and reduce until slightly thickened. Strain, season, add remaining butter, and emulsify with an immersion blender.
12
Plate the dish
Bring the salt-crusted lamb chops to the table, cut through the crust at two-thirds height, and remove the lamb chops. Remove the fat cap, cut into 5mm thick slices. Pour sauce on a warm plate, arrange the lamb slices on top. Serve with pasta. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, garnish with thyme.
