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.

So, full disclosure: I was in a bit of a hurry and kind of messed up this pudding. It still turned out reasonably tasty. It was just very lumpy. Since I just dumped the chia into the milk the night before and didn't both to mix it properly. Not the end of the world. Just not ideal either. So, I guess I should let that be a lesson to me to make sure to mix everything very well before I leave it to soak overnight if I'm ever making this again.

You can mix up the fruit to go with this. The original recipe calls for kiwi, blackberries, fresh apricots, pomegranate, and toasted coconut chips. I think I ended up using kiwi, blackberries, nectarines, raspberries, and toasted coconut. But you could try all sorts of things! I've included some ideas in the variations below.

Chia Pudding with Fresh Fruit

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g blackberries
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 4 apricots, sliced
• 75g pomegranate arils
• 20g toasted coconut chips

Directions

1. Combine oat milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix well.
2. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.
3. Divide into four bowls, top each with 1/4 of the fresh fruit and coconut chips, and serve.

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Variants

Strawberry-Banana

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g strawberries
• 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 20g dark chocolate shavings

Kiwi-Mango

Ingredients

• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 2 mangoes, sliced
• 2 passionfruit
• 20g toasted coconut chips
• 20g macadamia nuts, chopped

Lemon-Blueberry

Ingredients

• 1 c. almond milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. culinary lavender
• 150g blueberries
• 1/2 c. lemon curd
• 20g slivered almonds, toasted

Blackberry-Melon

Ingredients

• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 150g blackberries
• 1/4 cantaloupe, diced
• 1/4 honeydew melon, diced
• 20g pine nuts, toasted

Kiwi-Lychee

Ingredients

• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. rosewater
• 150g blackberries
• ~20 lycheefruit, peeled and halved
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 20g slivered almonds, toasted

Cranberry-Quince

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 quince, peeled and diced
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 c. apple juice
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 250g fresh cranberries
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 20g walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions

1. Combine the oat milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla extract as directed above, mixing, covering, and chilling for at least 4 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine the quince, star anise, cinnamon stick, apple juice, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for ~20 minutes.
4. Add the cranberries and raisins and simmer for another 20 minutes.
5. Divide pudding among four bowls, top with compote and walnuts and serve.

Chocolate-Cherry

Ingredients

• 1 c. almond milk
• 1/4 c. chia seeds
• 1 Tbsp. Dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 400g fresh cherries, pitted and halved
• 20g slivered almonds, toasted
• 20g dark chocolate shavings

I finally got around to making the last parfait recipe in the Breakfast Bible. It's pretty simple, but I don't often keep nectarines on hand, so this is the first time I've actually had the ingredeints available.

I liked the citrus notes with the nectarines in this parfait. Unfortunately I think my nectarines were a little underripe, so it came out a bit bland and tart overall. Adding a bit of maple syrup helped, but having properly ripened fruit would obviously have been better. But I was worried that if I waited I'd never get around to it. So I fiugred I'd give it a go with the slightly firm nectarines and just adjust as needed to compensate. Not ideal maybe, but it got the job done.

Honey-Lime Nectarine Parfaits

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 4 nectarines, halved and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• zest of 2 limes
• 3 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. granola
• maple syrup or extra honey, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the nectarines, honey, and limes and mix well. Set aside.
2. Get out four jars or glasses and put 6 Tbsp. of yogurt in the bottom of each.
3. Add ~1/8 of the nectarines to each jar.
4. Repeat the layers with another 6 Tbsp. of the yogurt and 1/8 of the nectarines in each jar.
5. Top each portion with 1 Tbsp. of granola.
6. Drizzle with maple syrup/honey (if using) and serve.