Red Chile Lamb Chops With Tortillas
serves 4-6
You'll have roughly one cup of the red chili sauce left to use for another recipe, such as these shredded braised lamb pita sandwiches, or as a dipping sauce with seared sea scallops.
This recipe is part of Andrew Schloss's Sunday Dinners.
4 diced ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 dried pasilla chili, stemmed and seeded
2 cups hot water
6 shoulder lamb chops (about 3 1/2 pounds)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bulb fennel, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground aniseed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 medium eggplant (1 1/2 pounds)
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
prep: 35 minutes
total: 1 hour 55 minutes
broiler (or grill)
large baking dish
large saucepan
small baking sheet
large bowl
microwave-safe plate
platter
1. Break the ancho and pasilla chilies into small pieces and soak in the hot water until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove the chilies and finely chop them. Set aside the chilies and the soaking liquid separately.
2. Liberally season the lamb chops with salt and pepper and just brown under a high broiler or over a hot grill. Transfer to a large baking dish and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F.
4. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and fennel in the olive oil until softened. Add the cumin, aniseed, oregano and garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, chili soaking liquid and chicken broth.
5. Bring to a boil and adjust the seasoning with salt. Pour the sauce over the lamb, cover and bake for 1 hour. On a small baking sheet, bake the eggplant whole at the same time.
6. Remove the lamb and eggplant from the oven. Transfer the chops to a platter and skim the fat from the surface of the roasting juices. Pour the skimmed juices into a large bowl.
7. Cut the stem from the eggplant and split it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh and mash it with a fork.
8. Thicken the lamb sauce by mixing in the mashed eggplant. Serve 1 1/2 cups of the thickened sauce on the side with the lamb.
9. Place the tortillas in a microwave-safe plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave at full power for 1 minute. Serve the tortillas with the lamb.
