Chargrilled Loin Chops with Mint Butter on a Medley of Summer Beans and Crushed New Potatoes

Its often easy to forget that often the best dishes are the simplest. Loin chops barbecued is just one of those dishes. Spring lamb means that these chops are tender and succulent, I think they are best cooked so that they are still pink and juicy. Beans are great in June with a large selection available. The vegetables can be prepared in advance and served cold or you can reheat them to serve them hot.

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6 portions

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Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Loin Chops

12 loin chops
6 tbps olive oil
2 sprigs of thyme
1 garlic clove
maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper

Potatoes

500g new potatoes, scrubbed

Beans

150g fresh peas
200g sugar snaps, trimmed and cut in half
200g stringless beans, trimmed

Mint Butter

200g butter at room temperature
6 tbsp mint leaves

Method

Lamb: Place the loin chops, thyme and garlic and pour over the olive oil. Cover and refrigerate the lamb until ready to cook.
Butter: Place the butter in a food processor with the mint and process it until the mint is finely chopped and combined with the butter. Lay a piece of cling film out on a work surface. Place the mint butter on the cling film, bring either side of the cling film over to seal it in. Roll the butter in the cling film so that is a sausage shape. Place the butter in the fridge to firm.
Potatoes: Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. When it is boiling add the potatoes and reduce it to a steady simmer. Leave the potatoes to cook for 10-15 minutes until they are just tender. Drain the water and crush the potatoes with the back of a fork roughly with the butter and a little salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.
Beans: Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add all the beans to the boiling water and cook them for a couple of minutes. Drain them and refresh in plenty of cold water. Place 1 tbsp of the mint butter in a saucepan and melt it over a moderate heat and toss the beans in it for a few minutes so that they are just heated through if serving hot.
To Cook the Lamb: Preheat a barbecue to a moderate high. Season the lamb chops with a little salt and pepper. Place them on the hot barbecue and cook them for 3-5 minutes on each side (this depends on how well you like them cooked).
To Serve: Distribute the beans among six plate and place the potatoes on them. Place 2 lamb chops on the centre of each plate. Remove the butter from the fridge and slice six rounds of butter and place one on one chop on each plate. Serve