Lamb Shoulder Chop w/ Salt Roasted Beets & Chow Chow

August has been a big month for posts and to end it I leave you with this all american inspired dish. Hearty and yet still summer inspired, this entree consists of everything I admire about American cuisine. The South has an appetizer of pickled vegetables which dates back to the first settlers...Chow Chow. Its not much to look at but pickling provides brightness and pallet cleansing to a dish. Like the Japanese pickled ginger which is searved along side any sashimi; radish, cucumber and garlic give a sweet yet tangy refreshment to the mouth that cut through the richness of this grilled lamb. The chop was seasoned traditionally with rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper. I let it marinate for just under an hour then grilled it on my cast iron grill pan. The beets were also simple. Seasoned with salt and good virgin olive oil and then roasted for an hour at 375* for 25 minutes. The pickle spices I like to use for this are mustard seed, red chile, garlic, dill and clove with sugar, salt, white wine vinegar and water.
This whole entree was created in just over an hour and when executed properly it speaks volumes about perfection through simplicity. Not every dish needs to have layer apon layer of complex flavors. That is not what makes comfort food anyway. Enjoy!