Glazed Sizzling Chops, Sweet Tomato & Asparagus Lasagnetti

Welcome to yet another blog post and another recipe! 

This time, it is the rest of my lamb chops, whose expensive story you can read in the posts below. 

Now, I again cooked two recipes in one day, so I was absolutely drained by the second recipe, which you can read in the blog post timeline as a sequel. 

Sunday was a very busy day obviously, and instead of half an hour that it was supposed to take me to make both, it took me quadruple that, if not more. So read below whether it was worth it!

This is what I came up with:

I started off by de-freezing the lamb chops and peas early in the morning. 

I then tossed the lamb with only a pinch of salt and set aside to soak in and add flavor as no other spices are mentioned to be used on the meat. 

I then trimmed all my veggies, including the asparagus, spring onions, chili and tomatoes (used the 300g of regular tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes as suggested). 

I also prepared the leafy half of the mint and 3 cloves of garlic and chucked it into a pan with two tablespoons of oil (+ salt and pepper). 

I then put my lasagna sheets to cook, as I didn't have them pre-cut and I couldn't cut them in their original dried state. I recommend taking them out when semi-done, just cuttable, as they will cook further with the veggies, so there is no need to cook them entirely in this step. 

So I cut them into lasagnettis and put into the veg pan.

I then piled all my lamb chops into a frying pan with one tablespoon of oil, 5 scattered garlic cloves and rosemary leaves which I rotated and waited until they were very well-done on both sides as I like my meat definitely cooked through. 

I cooked them on low heat, just to be able to control the process, I didn't care about the longer time span as much. 

When they were just about right, I poured the honey and balsamic over them and removed to a plate to rest and set. 

My lasagnettis were done, I really only waited for the asparagus to soften, and I took the pan off the heat. I grated some Parmesan on top and scattered some mint on the sticky lamb, and voila!

Here are some closeups for you to feel the flavor: 

And that's it!

I did follow the recipe truthfully, and honestly, it was rather bland for me. I guess I am too accustomed to my mother's and Jamie's other recipes full of flavors and strange spices, so a classic dish like this really awoke no sensation. However for a regular nutritional meal during a weekday, it will satisfy your needs. Or, if you are the polar opposite of me and do not like spice mixtures and unusual tastes, this will be right up your alley! The sticky and sweet lamb was the highlight though, and I discovered I have quite a distaste for asparagus - I don't understand why anything cooked for so long would be so crunchy, it just doesn't feel right!
To achieve this recipe you will need:

*Ingredients out* Kettle boiled * Large frying pan, high heat* Large casserole pan, medium heat*

Serves 4, 650 calories

Ingredients

Lamb
8 large lamb chops, trimmed of fat
olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, plus extra to serve

Lasagnetti
4 spring onions
2 bunches of asparagus (600g)
1 fresh red chili
300g ripe cherry tomatoes
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 small bulb of garlic
300g fresh lasagne sheets
30g Parmesan cheese

Start cooking

Toss the lamb chops with a pinch of salt and put into the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, turning regularly until golden (around 8 minutes). Trim and finely slice the spring onions, asparagus (leaving the tips whole) and chili, and halve the cherry tomatoes. Scrape the veg into the casserole pan with 2 tablespoons of oil.

Roughly chop most of the top leafy half of the mint and add to the veg with a pinch of salt and pepper, then squash in 3 cloves of unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher. Bash the remaining unpeeled garlic cloves and add to the lamb with the rosemary leaves. Cut the lasagne sheets into 2cm-thick stripes, scatter them over the veg, then cover with 500ml of boiling water and mix together.

Reduce the heat under the lamb to low and toss with the honey and balsamic to glaze, then remove to a plate to rest. Finely grate the Parmesan over the lasagnetti and turn the heat off. Serve with the lamb, adding an extra drizzle of balsamic and sprinkling over the remaining mint.

Note: This recipe was taken straight out of the cookbook, my version is written above. 

Bon Appétit!