I love sage: the peppery aroma, the dreamy pastel hue, the soft downy pelt of trichomes on its leaves and stems. I feel like it has been underappreciated in the culinary world, including in my own kitchen, a fact I wish to remedy, one dish at a time.
Well, today, ladies and gentleman, sage steals the show, fried to a crisp in brown butter and spooned generously onto perfectly fried lamb chops and a delicious tangy salad with crunchy pumpkin seeds and shavings of Pecorino Romano.
As usual, this meal was inspired, not from browsing cookbooks or online recipes, but from a few fresh ingredients picked up while running errands. In this case, it started at the little grocer’s across from my favourite yoga studio, with a bunch of fresh sage: the kind so soft and pretty you want to pet it like you would a pair of bunny ears. This unplanned purchase prompted a visit to the butcher’s, to pick up some pastured lamb chops, and finally, to the cheesemonger’s, to find the perfect cheese to go with sage and lamb.
I ended up going for Pecorino Romano, a hard Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk and aged for eight to twelve months. It has a wonderful sharp taste that pairs well with sage. If you can’t find Pecorino Romano, you can substitute with Asiago or Parmesan.
Joëlle
Fresh sage leaves fried to a crisp in brown butter and spooned generously onto perfectly fried lamb chops and a delicious tangy salad with crunchy pumpkin seeds and shavings of Pecorino Romano.
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Ingredients
- 3 lamb chops
- Salt
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed by pressing them down with the side of a knife.
- A glug of olive oil
- 1 shallot, julienned
- 1 tbsp shio koji*
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- A pinch ground sage
- Black pepper
- 1/2 bunch kale
- A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp butter
- A handful of sage leaves
- 2 tbsp Pumpkin seeds, toasted
- Pecorino Romano, shaved
- 2/3 thirds of the crispy sage brown butter
- A few fresh sage leaves (optional)
Instructions
- First, remove the lamb chops from the fridge and salt them well on all sides. Leave them out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes, to give them a chance to warm up to room temperature
- Make the vinaigrette by mixing all the ingredients together. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Remove kale leaves from their tough stems and tear them into bite-size pieces. Steam the leaves for 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness of the leaves. You want them to be chewy and pliable, not overcooked). Dump the leaves into a salad bowl.
- Toast pumpkin seeds over medium heat until fragrant and starting to brown. Set aside.
- Prepare the tomatoes and scallions and add them to the bowl (the kale leaves should be cool enough at this point). Mix in the dressing, and garnish with the toasted pumpkin seeds.
- Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high. Set a meat thermometer to your desired doneness temperature. I like mine medium-rare (145°F / 60°C).
- Once the skillet is warm enough, add a glug of oil, the cloves of garlic and your chops, searing them for a few minutes on each side. Once all sides are seared, stick the meat thermometer into one of the chops and stick the skillet into the oven.
- When the chops are cooked, remove the skillet from the oven and plate the chops.
- Return the skillet to the stove top, on medium heat. Add butter and sage leaves and fry for a few minutes, until the sage leaves are crispy and the butter is slightly brown. Pour a third of the sauce over the chops and the rest over the salad.
- Garnish the salad and chops with Pecorino Romano shavings and a few fresh sage leaves and serve.
