Lamb with charmoula and asparagus

Hello world!

Epicurious has re-hosted this delicious recipe from Bon Appetit. There's a huge variety of lamb available at Andronico's, but I decided to opt for lamb chateaubriand, a large and delicious cut that was a step up over stew meat and some others. It was $11.99 a pound, and two cuts (though apparently one is usually sufficient for two) - enough for an early dinner and a nice lamb sandwich later in the evening.

Though the recipe calls for a food processor, a good knife and a few minutes is all it takes to get a nice handmade consistency. The flavors are still there, and still big, but you won't have the consistency of restaurant curry. But hey, who says that's necessarily any better?

The ingredients for the charmoula... (doing this by hand at a somewhat slow pace took the entirety of Beethoven's Fifth, it was pretty epic.)

Charmoula

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 1/2 cups (lightly packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves

1/2 cup (lightly packed) fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup (lightly packed) fresh cilantro leaves

2 large garlic cloves

1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)* or sweet Hungarian paprika

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Can be somewhat expensive, but if you buy the spices you'll have plenty left after completing the recipe, so to make it a second time you'll only need the fresh herbs and lemon.

Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and toast until aromatic and slightly darker, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Transfer to processor. Add parsley leaves and next 6 ingredients to processor. Using on/off turns, process until coarse paste forms. With machine running, gradually add 4 tablespoons oil. Transfer 2 tablespoons charmoula to small bowl; whisk in lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Cover and chill to serve with lamb.

Toasting the cumin seeds - necessary. So aromatic!

I've found that with this specific cut of lamb, far more than 13 minutes is necessary, unless you like your lamb tartare. 30 minutes got me a good medium the last time I used this recipe. Attempted with 25 minutes this time and it was pretty medium.

For lamb:

Transfer remaining charmoula to large resealable plastic bag. Add lamb chops; seal bag and turn to coat well. Chill at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Let lamb and charmoula sauce in bowl stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place rack on prepared baking sheet. Place lamb on rack and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until thermometer inserted into center registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 13 minutes. Transfer lamb to platter. Tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter with 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add asparagus and sauté until tender, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add shallot and lemon peel. Sauté 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place 2 lamb chops on each of 4 plates. Divide asparagus among plates. Drizzle lamb and asparagus with charmoula sauce, passing remaining sauce alongside.

I didn't marinate these for as long as the recipe calls for, unfortunately, but it was nonetheless delicious.