Ready for the chop

Chops are a perfect choice for winter suppers, says Rachel Allen, and they can be made as simple or elaborate as you like. Photography by Tony Gavin

The chop is a brilliant little cut of meat. Chops are fabulous cooked simply on a hot pan with butter, and then adorned with crunchy flakes of sea salt and coarsely cracked black pepper, and drizzled with tapenade, or pesto, or salsa verde, or a flavoured butter. They’re also great added into a casserole, a curry or an Irish stew — the choices are endless, and each one is more delicious than the last.

Whether the chops are from the pig or the lamb, their thickness is something that I take very seriously. I like them really good and thick, at least 2cms (¾in) — otherwise they can be dry, instead of the juicy pieces of sweet meat that they deserve to be. I also want my chops to have a good layer of fat down the side, which is essential for the best flavour.

What defines a chop from other pieces of meat is that it’s cut perpendicularly to the spine and comes from the rib, loin, sirloin or shoulder of pork or lamb (a beef steak is never termed a chop). Quick and easy to cook, a chop is ideal for speedy suppers and barbecues alike.

A flavoured butter is easy to make, and is ideal for serving with a chop. This rosemary and smoked paprika number, above right, is superb with both pork and lamb, but feel free to replace the herb with sage, winter savoury (see In Season, far right) or thyme.

This recipe for lamb chops masala, right, is fabulously fragrant — and even better if it’s the made a day before serving, to allow the flavours to infuse. The balsamic-glazed pork chops recipe, far right, is just what I want on a chilly November night, with buttery mashed potatoes and greens on the side; and the salsa verde with lamb chops, also far right, is a match made in heaven. It can be rustled up in 10 minutes flat — just perfect for a midweek supper.

PORK CHOPS WITH ROSEMARY AND SMOKED PAPRIKA BUTTER

(Pictured) Serves 4. For the rosemary and smoked paprika butter, you will need: 110g (4oz) soft butter 2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary 1 large clove garlic, finely crushed or grated ½ teaspoon smoked paprika Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need:

2-3 pork chops per person Approximately 50ml (2fl oz) olive oil Green salad, to serve First, make the rosemary and smoked paprika butter. Put the soft butter in a bowl and add the finely chopped rosemary, the crushed or grated garlic, whichever you’re using, and the smoked paprika. Mix well and season the mixture with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, if necessary. Put the seasoned butter onto a piece of parchment paper and roll it into a log, wrapping it in the paper. Put in the fridge to chill. It can be stored like this for up to a week, or it can be frozen.

Next, cook the pork chops. Remove any excess fat from the chops, but leave about ½ cm( ¼in) of fat still on. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. Put a frying pan or a grill pan on a high heat. When the pan is really good and hot, add the pork chops — see my Tip, right —and sprinkle them with a little sea salt and more freshly ground black pepper. Cook each chop for approximately three minutes on each side until it is done to how you like it. Remove the chops to a plate as you cook them, and them leave them to rest in a warm oven for five minutes, before placing them on warm plates and serving them with a couple of slices of the rosemary and smoked paprika butter on top.

Serve with a green salad.

LAMB CHOPS MASALA

Serves 4-6. You will need: 50g (2oz) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped 12 cloves of garlic, peeled 3 tablespoons water 6-8 gigot lamb chops with the bones still in, each about 2cm (¾in) thick 400g (14oz) peeled and chopped fresh tomatoes or tinned chopped tomatoes 250g (9oz) chopped onion 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 400ml (14fl oz) natural yoghurt ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground 1½ teaspoons garam masala 1½ teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves and stalks, chopped Steamed or boiled rice, to serve Preheat the oven to 160°C, 325°F, Gas 3. Put the coarsely chopped ginger and the garlic cloves into an electric blender along with the 3 tablespoons of water, and blend to a paste.

Put the lamb chops on a chopping board and cut them in half, at an angle, leaving the bones still attached. Put the chops — there’s no need to brown them first — into a large casserole pot or saucepan. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes or the tinned chopped tomatoes, whichever you’re using, to the casserole pot or saucepan, along with the chopped onion, the cayenne pepper, the natural yoghurt, the toasted ground cumin seeds, the garam masala, the salt and the ginger and garlic paste. Stir and bring to the boil, then cover the casserole pot or saucepan, and put it in the preheated oven for two hours, or until the chops are meltingly tender.

Remove the casserole pot or saucepan from the oven, add the lemon juice and sprinkle the masala with the chopped fresh coriander leaves and stalks.

Serve the lamb chops masala with steamed or boiled rice.

BALSAMIC GLAZED PORK CHOPS

Serves 2.

You will need:

2-4 pork chops, each 2cms (¾in) thick

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 110g (4oz) small shallots (about 8), peeled and quartered, leaving the root ends intact 75ml (3fl oz) balsamic vinegar (see Rachel recommends, right) ¾ teaspoon sugar Buttery mashed potatoes, to serve Green salad, to serve Pat the pork chops dry and season them by sprinkling them with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.

Put a large frying pan over a high heat, add the olive oil and, when the pan is hot, add the pork chops and the quartered shallots. Cook the pork chops for two to three minutes on each side, until they are deeply coloured, stirring the shallots occasionally. Remove the pork chops to a plate. Add the balsamic vinegar to the shallots in the pan, as well as the sugar, and another sprinkle of sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Cook and stir for a minute or two until the liquid is starting to thicken.

Return the pork chops to the pan and turn them over a couple of times in the sauce. Cook them for a further 2-3 minutes until the pork is cooked through.

Remove the pork chops to serving plates, then increase the heat, and boil the sauce for 1-2 minutes, until it is thick and syrupy.

Pour the sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately with buttery mashed potatoes and a green salad.

LAMB CHOPS WITH SALSA VERDE

Makes 150ml (5fl oz) Serves 4-6.

For the salsa verde, you will need:

1 good handful of parsley leaves Grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed 50ml (2fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil (plus extra if you like your salsa verde runny) Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need:

Lamb chops (2-3 per person) 1–2 tablespoons olive oil First, make the salsa verde. Put the parsley leaves, the lemon zest, the crushed garlic and the rinsed capers into a food processor and whizz everything until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, the extra-virgin olive oil (add more oil if you want it a bit more runny) and some freshly ground black pepper. Check the seasoning — it might not need salt, as capers can be quite salty.

Next, cook the lamb chops. Remove any excess fat from the chops, but leave about ½ cm( ¼in) of fat on them. Drizzle the chops with the 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and season them with freshly ground black pepper. Put a frying pan or grill pan on a high heat. When it’s really good and hot, add the lamb chops and sprinkle them with a little sea salt and some more freshly ground black pepper. Cook each chop for approximately three minutes on each side until it is done to how you like it. Remove the chops to a plate as they are cooked, and then leave to rest in a warm oven for five minutes.

Serve them with a good drizzling of the salsa verde.