Not Exactly a Chop, But Who Cares?

Most ranchers and farmers know how to inseminate a sheep or plow a furrow, respectively, but often don’t know what to do with their progeny: pigs feet, beef tongue, kohlrabi, cabbage, or in this case, lamb neck chops, are ciphers.

The adorable lamb rancher Merrit Monnat of M&P Ranch gave me a quizzical look, a slight tip of her head, like a sheep dog waiting for a command.

“How do you prepare these lamb neck chops?” she asked at the farmers market, her sheep tallow soap and wool yarn laid out on her table. The lamb, in various cuts listed on a chalk board, were hiding out, frozen, in coolers.

“Well first off, I would have to say, they aren’t chops, not in the traditional sense. You have to cook them low and slow, like oxtail or short ribs,” I said.

Merrit rolled her eyes. “I know! But we couldn’t come up with a better name.”

We pondered that a bit. She handed me a package of four “neck chops.” I promised her, if not a name for the cut, then at least, a recipe.

Mediterranean Lamb Neck Bowl
Why should ahi, salmon and rice get all the “bowl” treatments? This dish looks lovely plated in a pasta bowl, the lamb braise nestled in with a garbanzo bean and tahini saute, a big spoon of cucumber tzatziki marrying the two.
Serve 4
Lamb braise
4 lamb neck pieces
1 large turnip
1-2 carrots
¼ celeriac (celery root) or 1 parsnip
1 large shallot or small yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
12 dried apricots
¼ cup golden raisins
1 cup white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons Aleppo spice mix (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper the lamb neck pieces; set aside. Peel the carrot and celeriac. Dice the carrot, celeriac and turnip into ¾ inch dice. Mince the onion or shallot. Peel and slice the garlic.

In a cast iron or stainless steel skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering, add the lamb neck pieces, and sear on medium heat until they are brown on one side, then turn them over. After you’ve turned the lamb neck, add the onion and garlic to the pan. After the other side browns, remove the lamb to a 2-3 quart covered dutch oven. In the skillet, sprinkle the Aleppo spice mix over the onions and garlic, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add the wine and chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits. Dump in the carrot, celeriac, turnip, apricots and raisins, toss in a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a simmer. Pour over the lamb in the dutch oven. Cover and braise in a 325 oven until the lamb is very tender, 90-120 minutes. Remove from the oven and fish out the four lamb neck pieces. Place on a plate and allow to come to room temperature. Remove the meat from the bones and add back into the Dutch oven. Stir all together.

Garbanzo Bean Saute

3 cups cooked garbanzo beans (no shame if you use canned)
¼ cup minced Italian parsley
3 scallions
2 tablespoons sesame tahini
Juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon smokey hot paprika or pimenton d’esplette
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

When the lamb is done and out of the oven, prepare the garbanzo beans. Thinly slice the scallions. In a 2-quart sauce pan, heat the olive oil until shimmering, and add the garbanzo beans, parsley and scallions, and saute for about 1 minute. Add the tahini, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt, and stir together. Turn off and set aside.

Cucumber Tzatziki

1 small Persian cucumber
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt or Green yogurt
2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 small shallot

Dice the skin-on cucumber into very small pieces. Mince the shallot. Mix the cucumber, shallot and parsley with the yogurt, and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve:  Into a pasta bowl or wide shallow bowl, ladle a spoon of garbanzo beans. Next to the beans, add a generous spoon of lamb braise. Add a dolop of cucumber tzatziki between them.
Aleppo Spice Mix

Adapted from The Aleppo Cookbook by Marlene Matar

Ms. Matar’s The Aleppo Cookbook is an excellent exploration of Syria’s lovely cuisine. I always have this spice mix in my pantry now, and it is perfect for lamb. This is most delicious if you use whole spices and grind them in a spice grinder, but pre-ground is not going to get you any demerits.

2 tablespoons ground allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ teaspoon mahlepi (a spice made from the dried seeds of a shrub called the St. Lucie Cherry) or ground ginger
Stir together and store in a sealed container.

The Agent Search

Happy to report this morning that even if I can’t find an agent, I can get published writing about my agent search. Having fun replying to comments about this, too, at Brevity Blog. Thanks, Editor Dinty Moore, for publishing it.