Lamb Chops with Charred Cabbage, Roasted Carrots and Squash, and Herb Tahini
Seared grass-fed lamb chops with smoky charred cabbage wedges, caramelized carrots and butternut squash, and a bright, creamy tahini sauce loaded with fresh herbs and lemon. A hearty, Middle Eastern-inspired plate.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 35 min · Total: 50 min · Best in North America from fall through winter, when cabbage, carrots, and winter squash are at their peak · Best eaten: early evening
Ingredients
Herb tahini
⅓ cup tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, grated
½ cup mixed fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, mint, and dill), finely chopped
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
4–6 tbsp cold water, to thin
Vegetables
½ medium green or Savoy cabbage, cut into 4 wedges through the core
1 lb carrots, halved lengthwise
3 cups butternut squash, cubed
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or ghee, divided
1 tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Lamb
8 grass-fed lamb loin or rib chops
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ghee
Method
Roast the carrots and squash. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss them with 2 tbsp oil, the cumin, and half the salt and roast 25–30 minutes, until caramelized.
Char the cabbage. Brush the wedges with the remaining oil and season with salt. Sear them cut-side down in a hot cast iron skillet 4–5 minutes per side, until deeply charred, then finish in the oven 10–12 minutes, until tender at the core.
Make the herb tahini. Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt (it will seize and thicken at first; that's normal), then whisk in cold water a tablespoon at a time until smooth and pourable. Stir in the herbs.
Sear the lamb. Season the chops with salt, pepper, and coriander. Sear in hot ghee over high heat 3–4 minutes per side, crisping the fat edges, until the center reads 125–130°F for medium-rare. Rest 5 minutes.
Plate. Set a charred cabbage wedge on each plate, add the carrots and squash, lean two lamb chops alongside, and drizzle everything generously with herb tahini.
Storage: Lamb, up to 3 days refrigerated; vegetables, up to 4 days; herb tahini, up to 5 days (thin it with water as needed).
Nourishment Notes: Grass-fed lamb brings heme iron, B12, zinc, and CLA. Cabbage offers glucosinolates, vitamin C, and vitamin K. Carrots and squash bring beta-carotene and potassium. Tahini adds calcium, magnesium, copper, and sesame lignans. Fresh herbs offer chlorophyll, vitamin K, and apigenin.
For your cycle: Lamb's heme iron and zinc make this especially restorative during the menstrual and luteal phases, and tahini's sesame lignans and calcium round it out.
Sourcing
Lamb chops — 100% grass-fed, from a local farm, White Oak Pastures, or US Wellness Meats
Tahini — organic when available, 100% sesame; Al Arz, a family business in Nazareth, makes its tahini from Ethiopian Humera sesame
Cabbage, carrots, squash, herbs, garlic, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market
Ghee — Ancient Organics, or homemade from organic grass-fed butter
Spices (cumin, coriander) — organic and non-irradiated
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall