There is nothing our twins enjoy more than lamb chops. They love to use their hands to eat them. I just simply grill them in the oven. Marty Whelan told me on LyricFM recently that pork chops are one of his favourite meals. In this simple recipe I am using pesto potatoes. You can get good-quality fresh pesto now. Frozen peas are essential. I love them in a risotto and I love them with lamb. The key is good Irish lamb and really nice potatoes.

Boneless pork chops are good value. I grill them on a good hot pan. You can get good-quality apple sauces but it is easy to make your own. Some chopped Bramley apples, unsweetened apple juice, a piece of cinnamon and a touch of sugar and you have gorgeous home made apple sauce. Folláin Foods make a very good apple sauce. I like to serve with steamed broccoli and sometimes use rice instead of the potatoes.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Recipes

Spitfire lamb with peas and pesto potatoes.

\ Photography: Philip Doyle. Food styling: Sharon Hearne-Smith

Spitfire lamb with peas & pesto potatoes

Serves four

450g (1lb) baby new potatoes

4 x 175g (6oz) lamb loin chops or leg steaks, trimmed

225g (8oz) frozen peas

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp readymade pesto

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 Preheat a cast iron ridged griddle pan or a barbecue. Halve the potatoes and place in a pan of boiling salted water. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender.
  • 2 Arrange the lamb loin chops or leg steaks on the griddle pan or barbecue and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through and tender. Remove from the heat and leave in a warm place for a few minutes to allow the meat to rest.
  • 3 Place the peas in a pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 2-3 minutes until tender. Drain and quickly refresh under cold running water to prevent them from cooking further. Set aside until needed.
  • 4 Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured.
  • 5 Drain the potatoes and quickly fold in the pesto with the sautéed onion and peas.
  • 6 Season to taste and arrange on warmed plates with the barbecue lamb loin chops or leg steaks.

    • Griddled apple-glazed pork chops

    Serves four

    4 centre-cut boneless loin pork chops, each about 2.5cm (1in) thick

    1 tbsp rapeseed oil

    25g (1oz) butter, diced

    4 tbsp Bramley apple sauce

    steamed tender steamed broccoli and jacket potatoes, to serve

  • 1 Preheat the oil in a cast iron ridged griddle pan or a barbecue. Add the pork chops and cook for 10-12 minutes until cooked through and tender, turning once. Spoon a tablespoon of the apple sauce over each chop and keep turning the chops over so they get nicely coated. Transfer to warmed plates and serve at once with the broccoli and jacket potatoes.

    • Ingredient profile

    What’s in season?

    \ Philip Doyle

    Irish-grown apples are of fantastic quality and are readily available at this time of year, making them ideal for homemade apple sauce. Neven recommends using bramleys, which are also known as cooking apples. They have a high pectin content and low amount of natural sugar. In this way, you can really control how sweet you would like your apple sauce to be. Irish bramley apples are generally available from September to July each year, as they are kept in cold storage once picked. You can find good quality Bramley’s in supermarkets around the country, or directly from farmers like The Apple Farm in Cahir, Co Tipperary.