We picked up some lamb shoulder chops on sale a couple days after I arrive here in NZ. They've been sitting in the freezer ever since, waiting for an opportunity to be used. And now that we're seeing lots of delicious stone fruit in the grocery stores, I felt like maybe it was time to bring them out.

The original recipe called for grilling the lamb (preferably on a charcoal grill) and I do think that would have been nice. But it was so windy when we were trying to prepare dinner, that Reiver suggested that perhaps it would be best to forgo the barbecue in favour of the stovetop in this instance.

I'm sure they would have been lovely on the grill, but they cooked up just fine in a pan on the stove. And the simple, fruity salsa worked very well as an accompaniment. As did the pumpkin and kumara tagine that I made as a side dish to round out the meal.

Lamb Chops with Nectarine Salsa

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 4 lamb shoulder chops
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 nectarines, chopped
• 1/4 c. minced red onion
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. minced chipotles in adobo
• 1 tsp. lime juice

Directions

1. Season the lamb chops with the cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
2. Combine the nectarines, onion, cilantro, chipotles, and lime juice in a bowl and mix well.
3. Prepare a grill (or frying pan) for direct heat cooking.
4. Brush the lamb chops with oil (or drizzle a little oil into the frying pan) and cook the chops to desired doneness.
5. Serve chops topped with salsa.

I feel a bit bad about this one. Not only has it taken me months to get it written up¹, but I poisoned a house guest with it. So, you know, not my finest moment.

Let me explain. The dish itself was fine. But he has a sensitivity to vegetables in the nightshade family. Most notably tomatoes and peppers. He can handle tomatoes that are very well cooked. So canned tomatoes are usually fine. And a few chilies in a curry or stir-fry or whatever are usually fine. As are things like paprika and chili powder. So, given that, I had hoped that the cooked, smoked, canned, and simmered chilies in this wouldn't cause him any problems. And, I think if it had just been one or two chipotles, it probably would have been fine. Unfortunatley, the recipe calls for an entire tin of them. I only ended up using ~2/3 of a tin. But that was still apparently too much and ended up setting off a bad reaction. So it wasn't exactly the greatest start to the trip. Whoops!

On the bright side, if you're not allergic to the ingredients, this is a very easy and relatively tasty chili to make. I mean, it's not the best chili ever. But it's very simple to put together, so it has a reasonably good effort-to-deliciousness ratio. My main complaint is that it's lacking in legumes and veggies. It's basically just a big pot of beef. Which is fine as far as it goes. But it means it doesn't really work well as a stand-alone dish like a more traditional bean-based chili might.

Beef-Chipotle Chili

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1.3kg stewing beef
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 onions, chopped
• 2 c. beef stock
• 1 (220g) can chipotles in adobo

Directions

1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper and dredge the beef in it.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat (sauté medium) in the InstantPot.
3. Working in two batches, sear the beef on all sides.
4. Remove beef from pot, sprinkle with oregano, and set aside.
5. Add the garlic and all but 1/2 c. of the onion to the now-empty pot and cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the broth and chilies (including all of the sauce).
7. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom.
8. Return beef to pot, cover, and slow cook in medium for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-4 hours).
9. Sprinkle with remaining onion and serve.

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¹ I originally made it back in April. ^Back