Sunday Dinner with Chef Simon [Nov '12]

SaskMade Marketplace would like to welcome the esteemed Chef Simon of Simon's Fine Foods in Saskatoon for a new post series here on our blog. Sunday dinners have become a rare and treasured time for families to make time for each other, make meals to remember, and make memories to last a lifetime. Chef Simon will be bringing you inspiration and instruction for your own Sunday meal, using local Saskatchewan ingredients and European inspiration.

Pan fried Saskatchewan lamb, pickled carrot and black bean salad, mustard mayo, fingerling potatoes, Saskatoon berry syrup.

Serves 3 Ingredients

• 1 package lamb loin chops (roughly 6 chops)
• 1 bag fresh oregano
• 1 bag fresh mint
• ½ tsp dried garlic
• ½ bag fingerling potatoes
• ½ cup dried black beans
• 5 pickled carrots
• 4 tbsp Saskatoon berry syrup
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp grainy mustard

  Suppliers

• Floating Gardens Greenhouse
• M&M Garlic
• Living Soils Farm
• Willow Creek Organic Grain Co
• Prairie Berries
• West Bridgeford Meats Ltd.
• Rylee Green

Lamb History of Saskatchewan  I did a little digging and Sheep have been part of Saskatchewan’s economy for over 140 years with the first Sheep arriving on the Prairies in the 1800’s. There are around 70,000 ewes in the province producing 110,000 lambs each year but there is still room to double this production due to high demand. - CTV news, Saskatchewan Sheep development board

Great news for lamb lovers, SaskMade is soon to carry lamb too! I did my monthly run to SaskMade to look for ingredients for the November blog and as usual I look for the main ingredient and build the dish around it, Candace Ippolito one of the owners of SaskMade had mentioned earlier there was soon to be lamb and beef making its way onto the shelves and I grabbed a package of lamb chops which gave me a head start in my choice.

Prep Work This is a dish in which most of the stages can be prepared ahead of time.

• Marinate the lamb chops in the chopped mint, oregano, dried garlic and canola oil and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
• Boil the potatoes until tender and run under cold water until cold, then into the fridge.
• Making the salad ahead of time will actually improve the flavour, so boil the beans for 60-90 minutes until very tender, then under cold water to chill.
• Slice the carrots into bite size pieces and place in a bowl, add the drained beans, mayonnaise and mustard and mix well, place in the fridge till required.

Here’s my tip for lamb: if you’re purchasing rack or loin chops then cook the lamb pink! This is going to give you the most taste and the tenderest lamb you can eat.  

Let’s finish the dish...

• Remove the chops from the fridge about an hour before cooking to allow the meat to come up in temperature.
• Cut the fingerling potatoes length ways and sauté in canola oil and a knob of butter until golden, then season with salt and pepper and place to one side.
• In the same pan, add the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes each side on a medium heat. Take the Saskatoon berry syrup and drizzle generously around the lamb to give a sweet kick.
• Place the potatoes back in the same pan to warm up again and then plate as the photo.
• Add the pre-made salad to the plate and serve.
• This dish is so tasty and the combination of the flavours works extremely well with the minty lamb and the piquancy of the pickled carrots with the sweetness of the Saskatoon berry syrup!!

If you have bad memories and experiences eating lamb then a chop is one of the best ways to remedy this as the meat is mild, tender but rich which is perfect for adding lots of flavours to. The recipe allows two chops per person, but I would personally eat at least three.

So for a quick and easy Sunday dinner with lots of flavour try this at home and slam on the lamb!

Happy Cooking!
Chef Simon