Rosemary Sorbet & Lamb Chops with Rosemary Pan Sauce

 

Three significant things happened to me in the past week.  1) I turned 30.  2) I finally bought myself the Cuisinart ice cream maker I’ve been eyeing.  3) I got my first cast iron pan.  The three events may seem related, but they’re really not.  The ice cream maker purchased was justified by my having enough points on my credit card to get some Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards and this month I also happened to get an online coupon for the store.  I joke that my mother gifted me her used cast iron pan – three years my senior! – because she was mad that I didn’t invite her to my all-weekend singing, dancing, drinking, eating fiesta, but in truth I’ve been meaning to assume ownership of the pan for some time (it’s just been hanging out at my brother’s place until his next visit to Chicago).  And yet the confluence of these three things seems fitting: a new decade, new tools to use, new foods to try, and new things to learn.

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I love a good sorbet.  You can find decent ice cream anywhere, but good sorbet is a treat.  In truth, sorbet, not ice cream, was the impetus behind my purchasing the ice cream maker.  While flipping through JoC in times past, I came across a recipe for rosemary sorbet.  I’ve never had rosemary sorbet, but I love rosemary and the idea just seemed delightful.  Everyone has had mint sweets, but rosemary never comes to mind in this application.  It had to be the first recipe I would try in my new ice cream maker.

My plans for finding fresh rosemary at the farmers’ market were dashed when there was none to be found, so I put aside my local farming efforts and picked some up at the Treasure Island two blocks from my apartment.  JoC’s authors state that most sorbets are started by combining equal parts sugar and water, but that they find this ratio too sweet and have cut the sugar in their recipes.  Indeed, I added only a half-cup of sugar to a cup-and-a-quarter of water and set that to boil while chopping a quarter-cup of the fresh rosemary.  I added the rosemary and let that steep for 40 minutes before straining the mixture and putting it in the refrigerator to cool for several hours.  Once cool, I sent my ice cream bowl for its inaugural spin and poured in the aromatic syrup.  Immediately the liquid began to increase in volume as it froze and collected on the sides of the bowl while the mixing paddle scraped around the edges. 

I had decided to make only half of the recipe, just in case I didn’t like it, but this proved to be somewhat of a mistake.  The smaller amount of liquid kept accumulating on the paddle instead of swirling around the bowl, so what I wound up with was hard, icy bits mixed in with the slushy bits instead of a uniform creaminess.  It didn’t help that I put it in the freezer to harden further.  As you can see from the picture above, it was not very scoopable (though I seem to have sacrificed my ice cream scoop in a move anyway, so I suppose it doesn’t really matter).

The taste was…interesting?  It wasn’t like anything I had ever tasted before.  It was heady with the flavor of rosemary and yet quite sweet and at the same time refreshing.  “Unexpected” is the best word that I can think to describe it.  But I think I like it.

With a half a bag of fresh rosemary left over, I knew the perfect accompaniment would be some lamb chops cooked up in my new (to me) cast iron pan.  I followed JoC’s instructions for cooking the chops in a bit of olive oil and butter, then composed the herb sauce.  I sautéed some shallots in the pan, deglazed with some white wine and lemon juice, stirred in a couple drops of Dijon mustard and the chopped rosemary, then added salt and pepper.  Some bits of butter swirled in at the end completed the sauce.  Admittedly, I over-reduced it a bit and had to add a little extra wine, but otherwise the sauce was bright and herby and went perfectly with the lamb.   

I managed to cook the lamb to the perfect state of medium with a nice crust around the edges.  Perhaps that was due to my attention to the cook time…or perhaps it was the aid of a really good pan.  Either way it was easy, quick, and good.  It was a great meal to start a new decade of cooking.