52: Fennel Seed-Crusted Lamb Chops / Caramelized Green Bell Pepper & Carrots / Rosemary Bacon Whipped Potatoes

Well, I figured out what to make for dinner tonight. It was just me tonight, so I surveyed the refrigerator and did my thing. Sometimes I have a bad habit of doing too much to each component of a dish. I felt like I was over-seasoning and that the flavors wouldn’t go well together. You be the judge.

The fennel seed imparts a lovely fragrance when slightly charred, adds texture, too. The caramelization of the veggies provides a nice nutty and bittersweet contrast to the richly flavored and slightly spicy feeling from the rosemary whipped potatoes. And, bacon – well, bacon just makes everything better.

I was going to drink a big California chardonnay with dinner tonight, but then I forgot to put the bottle in the fridge when I started prep. The alternative became one Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale. It’s missing a good dose of hops, but it did the trick with dinner.

Ingredients and Directions:

1/2 pound of lamb rib chops

1 tablespoon fennel seed, chopped

1/4 of a green pepper, sliced lengthwise into 8 strips

2 large baby carrots, quartered lengthwise (8 pieces total)

1 smallish medium potato, peeled and chopped into chunks

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 sprig rosemary, minced

1 slice of bacon

1/2 cup sour cream

 1 garlic clove, minced

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler. Cook bacon until crispy while boiling potatoes until very tender. Wrap bacon in paper towels when finished. While potatoes boil and bacon cooks, sauté bell peppers and carrots in olive oil over medium low heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Season chops with salt, pepper, and fennel seed while everything else cooks. Add sugar to vegetables when 5 minutes out to caramelize. Be careful not to burn the veggies. Turn off heat and keep veggies covered if not ready to serve everything yet when they finish.

Stick a cast iron plate under broiler for 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and mash with a fork. Add garlic, rosemary, and sour cream and puree with hand blender to desired consistency. Add bacon and stir to fold into potatoes.  Place on low heat to keep warm. Remove cast iron plate, add lamb chops, and stick back under broiler for 5 minutes for medium rare. Arrange your plate.

Enjoy!