Grilled Veal Chops with Rosemary & Lemon

STOP THE PRESSES!  We’ve got a new classic grilling recipe to share…veal chops marinated in olive oil, lemon and rosemary from the garden!

I went to the market today to prepare for tomorrow’s tandoori chicken dinner (which takes over 24 hours to marinate) and I happened to come across the special items section at the meat counter.  Just my luck, I picked up two MASSIVE veal chops for $16 – an absolute and utter (or udder) steal! I found a great little recipe for veal chops and wanted to share with you so here you go…this one is a definite MUST TRY!

• 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 2 (1.25 inch thick) veal chops
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a lock top bag and season with Kosher salt and pepper to taste. Add the veal chops to the marinade, squish the bag around to ensure an even coating and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours or better yet overnight. I do want to try the overnight but sadly I only had 3 hours to spare this afternoon. Once you’re all marinated up, grill over glowing coals (or 500 F) for 8 minutes on each side for medium rare. Pull the chops off the grid and let them rest for about 4-5 minutes to redistribute all the juices and then serve.

To go along with the veal chops I also made up some white rice and an easy raspberry/spinach salad that goes something like this:

• 1 packet of fresh leafy spinach – 120 g
• 1 packet of Driscoll’s raspberries, split in two
• 1/2 a cup of walnuts, toasted and covered in melted brown sugar to crisp them up
• toss the salad and then make the dressing to put on your plated salad – don’t drizzle the bowl as you’ll wilt the spinach quickly.

The dressing goes like this:

• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp of granulated white sugar
• 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

This was a great, inexpensive and fantastically flavoured meal! Honestly, a huge surprise and Heather’s first veal chop…thankfully done to perfection!

Cheers,

Roman

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

Tandoori Chicken (recipe included)

Hi everyone…I was looking back at the blog last night to get a sense of how much we’ve put on (both on the blog and around the waistline!) and I came across our recipe for Tandoori chicken only to notice that I hadn’t posted the ingredients or process.  So, here goes: Tandoori Chicken on the Big Green Asian Egg!

• 1 cup plain yoghurt (not the light stuff…go full fat!)
• 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (approx. 4-5 limes)
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro or in our case Chinese parsley
• 6 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp red curry paste (I use mild and then crank up the heat with chili peppers and cayenne pepper)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 chili pepper (I removed the seeds but if you want more heat, keep them in)
• 2 tbs peanut oil
• 1 chicken, skinned and quartered
• red and yellow natural food colouring for that tandoori look (and be super careful as I was a dork and smashed a bottle of the red and what a mess – my leg and hands will be red for weeks!)

The marinade is simple – combine all the above ingredients into a food processor bowl and pulse the contents with a steel blade for about half a minute. Prepare your chicken by removing all the skin and excess fat.  Score a few lines into the meat and place your quarters into a large lock top bag.

Pour the marinade in, coating your chicken thoroughly, then remove as much of the air out of the bag as possible.  Place the bag into a bowl and back into the fridge for 24-30 hours!  When tomorrow comes, remove the chicken and disgard the marinade. Get the grill up to 500 F (260 C) with your platesetter in and legs up, set for indirect cooking. Place the chicken quarters on a lightly oiled grid and grill for 30 minutes or if you’re using a thermometer, make sure it reaches about 165F (74C).

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Overall Heather Rating: 6/10