by Melissa Clark, NY Times
Slipping a few anchovies into the stew pot is one of those sneaky little tricks that boosts flavor with virtually no effort. Unscrew the jar, plop in a couple of whole fillets, then watch them disappear into the sauce.
They act as flavor enhancers, bringing out the character of the other ingredients while adding a salty, complex nuance but with none of the fishiness that the anchovy-averse might expect.
A lifelong anchovy enthusiast, I embraced this secret the minute I heard about it. Now, I rarely stew a leg of lamb or chunk of pork shoulder without tossing in a few small fish.
I don’t know why it took me so long to think of adding them to a pan of quickly sautéed meat, but it makes perfect sense. Anchovies don’t require long simmering to disintegrate into a pan sauce. They don’t even need to be chopped. As any puttanesca fan knows, a few minutes of lazy stirring in a pan of simmering liquid or fat (usually olive oil or butter) will turn them into tasty paste.
In fact, that method is the basis of one of my favorite instant, there’s-nothing-in-the-house snacks. Just empty a drained jar of anchovies into a saucepan and melt them down with a stick of butter. After five minutes, stir in a little minced garlic and spread the resulting savory mush onto crostini, topping them with slices of ripe tomato or shavings of prosciutto.
In this recipe, I concoct a similarly flavored sauce for juicy little lamb chops. I use olive oil in place of butter and throw in a handful of capers. The pungent garlic and anchovies bring out the sweetness of the meat while a few sage leaves add a musky note.
The dish comes together in minutes but tastes as if you’d spent hours over the stove fussing and fine-tuning. And because the salted fish and olive oil meld into a smooth sauce, you can serve the dish to people who think they don’t like anchovies, then tell them when only the lamb bones remain.
6 baby lamb chops (1 1/4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons drained capers
15 sage leaves
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving.
1. Rinse the lamb chops and pat them dry. Season them with salt and pepper, and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Over medium-high heat, warm a skillet large enough to hold all the chops in one layer. Add the oil and when it shimmers, add the anchovies and capers. Cook, stirring, until the anchovies break down, about 3 minutes.
3. Arrange the lamb chops in the skillet and fry, without moving them, until brown, about 3 minutes. Turn them over, and toss the sage leaves and pepper flakes into the pan. Cook until lamb reaches the desired doneness, about 2 minutes for medium-rare.
4. Arrange the chops on serving plates. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then spoon the sauce over the lamb. Serve with the lemon wedges.
via:
Slipping a few anchovies into the stew pot is one of those sneaky little tricks that boosts flavor with virtually no effort. Unscrew the jar, plop in a couple of whole fillets, then watch them disappear into the sauce.
They act as flavor enhancers, bringing out the character of the other ingredients while adding a salty, complex nuance but with none of the fishiness that the anchovy-averse might expect.
A lifelong anchovy enthusiast, I embraced this secret the minute I heard about it. Now, I rarely stew a leg of lamb or chunk of pork shoulder without tossing in a few small fish. I don’t know why it took me so long to think of adding them to a pan of quickly sautéed meat, but it makes perfect sense. Anchovies don’t require long simmering to disintegrate into a pan sauce. They don’t even need to be chopped. As any puttanesca fan knows, a few minutes of lazy stirring in a pan of simmering liquid or fat (usually olive oil or butter) will turn them into tasty paste.
In fact, that method is the basis of one of my favorite instant, there’s-nothing-in-the-house snacks. Just empty a drained jar of anchovies into a saucepan and melt them down with a stick of butter. After five minutes, stir in a little minced garlic and spread the resulting savory mush onto crostini, topping them with slices of ripe tomato or shavings of prosciutto.
In this recipe, I concoct a similarly flavored sauce for juicy little lamb chops. I use olive oil in place of butter and throw in a handful of capers. The pungent garlic and anchovies bring out the sweetness of the meat while a few sage leaves add a musky note.
The dish comes together in minutes but tastes as if you’d spent hours over the stove fussing and fine-tuning. And because the salted fish and olive oil meld into a smooth sauce, you can serve the dish to people who think they don’t like anchovies, then tell them when only the lamb bones remain.
6 baby lamb chops (1 1/4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons drained capers
15 sage leaves
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving.
1. Rinse the lamb chops and pat them dry. Season them with salt and pepper, and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Over medium-high heat, warm a skillet large enough to hold all the chops in one layer. Add the oil and when it shimmers, add the anchovies and capers. Cook, stirring, until the anchovies break down, about 3 minutes.
3. Arrange the lamb chops in the skillet and fry, without moving them, until brown, about 3 minutes. Turn them over, and toss the sage leaves and pepper flakes into the pan. Cook until lamb reaches the desired doneness, about 2 minutes for medium-rare.
4. Arrange the chops on serving plates. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then spoon the sauce over the lamb. Serve with the lemon wedges.
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