Inspiration
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What better way to celebrate than with a good surf ‘n’ turf? Both my brothers add one more year to their lives during the month of August and the occasion always merits some good quality food. My two older brothers, Marcelo and Juane couldn’t be more different from each other but like a good surf ‘n’ turf they make a great combo. The best dishes include flavors and produce that compliment each other, and seafood plus meat is no exception. Whomever thought about combining such different products was either a genius or a very indecisive person who couldn’t choose and said “why not? I’ll have both”. So, like many historic successful inventions that resulted from accidental experiments, maybe the surf ‘n’ turf came about by a random person who just couldn’t make up his or her mind. Sometimes mishaps are just opportunities waiting to happen.
The typical surf and turf is made of lobster and red meat, our version consisted of clams and lamb chops. It was a team effort between my mom and I, she was the mastermind behind the delicious clams prepared with a parsley and fish stock based sauce while I worked on the lamb accompanied by chimichurri. Not only was this a seafood and meat combo, but also a fusion between Spanish and Argentine cuisine which according to the audience worked quite well, highly recommended for special occasions like today.
Creation
Make sure your pan is very hot before placing the rack of lamb in order to have a nice sear. Start by setting your pan on very high heat and once it is hot add some olive oil and set the lamb fat side down first until golden, should take 1-2 minutes at most. The objective is just to sear the protein and not to cook it, otherwise you’ll have an overcooked and dry dish. You can either choose to pre-cook your lamb in the oven or use a sous-vide technique. Sous-vide has been my go-to method recently since it is so easy to use and it delivers the perfect result in any kind of protein. It had been a cooking technique commonly used just by the pros but nowadays any regular home cook can profit from this amazing procedure.
The original clam recipe had water instead of fish stock as the sauce base. The end result does change quite a bit if you decide to use stock instead of water, boosting the flavor a lot. It can be made by using fish leftovers or it can also be bought at any grocery store.
Recipe
Clams in Parsley Sauce
Ingredients
Clams
- 5 cloves Garlic thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
Parsley Sauce
- 1 cup White onion finely chopped
- 10 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch for thickening sauce
- 2 tbsp White wine
- 4 cups Parsley
- 3 cups Fish stock
Instructions
Clams
- Wash and clean with cold water
- Heat the pan over a medium heat, add the olive oil
- Add garlic and cook until golden brown and set aside
- Using the same pan, add clams and cook for 10 minutes and set aside
Sauce
- Blend fish stock and parsley in a blender and set aside
- In a separate pan heat more olive oil over a medium heat
- Once pan is heated, add onions and allow them to sweat until clear
- Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the paprika
- Add cornstarch and cook for two more minutes
- Add wine and allow to evaporate, before adding the fish stock/parsley mix
- Season with salt, bring the pot to the boil and then turn off the heat
Serving
- Add the clams to a pan and top with sauce, set to a medium heat and bring to the boil
- As soon as it boils turn the heat to low and let rest for a few minutes before serving
Sous Vide Lamb Chops
Ingredients
- 2 Racks of lamb
- 4 tsp Rosemary minced in a blender
- 3 tbsp Salt
- 2 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1 Lemon zest
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Thyme, Rosemary, Garlic for flavoring oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest together with the olive oil
- Rub the seasoning onto the rack of lamb making sure to cover the whole rack and let it rest overnight in the fridge
- Set sous vide bath to 134° Fahrenheit
- Using the immersion method, place rack in a zip bag and immerse in water and let cook for 2 hours
- When the rack has finished cooking, take it out of the bag and set aside
- Preheat a nonstick frying pan on a high heat and add enough oil to thinly coat the surface
- Add some thyme, rosemary, and garlic to the pan to flavor the oil
- When the pan is hot, add the rack of lamb, fat side down and sear the fat until golden brown and crispy, about 1-2 minutes
- Lower the heat and flip your lamb over to the meat side and cook for about 30 seconds then remove from the frying pan
- Cover the lamb with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes before carving and serving
Clams with Parsley (Cheat version)
Ingredients
- 50 Small clams in shell scrubbed clean
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup White wine
- 2 tbsp Butter
- ½ cup Fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Wash clams to remove any dirt or sand.
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute, or until tender. Pour in the white wine. Boil until wine has reduced to half its original volume.
- Add clams, cover, and steam till clams start to open. Add butter, cover, and cook till most or all of the clams open. Discard any that do not open. Transfer clams and juice to 2 large bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.
Quick & Easy Lamb Chops
Ingredients
- 8 Lamb loin or rib chops 1-inch thick
- 1 tbsp Chopped fresh thyme leaves plus 1 large sprig
- ¾ tsp Kosher salt divided
- ¼ tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp Unsalted butter cubed
- 1 Small shallot finely chopped
- 1 Large garlic clove smashed
- ½ cup Dry white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Finely grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Remove the lamb chops from the refrigerator and massage the chopped thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper into the meat. Set the lamb chops aside at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lamb chops and cook until a rich, brown crust forms on the bottom, 4 to 6 minutes (if you're using thicker lamb chops, this could take up to 10 minutes).
- Flip the lamb chops and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 145°F, 4 to 6 minutes more.
- Transfer the lamb chops to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallot, garlic, and thyme sprig to the pan and cook until shallot softens and begins to brown, about 1 minute.
- Deglaze with the wine or broth and lemon juice, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons butter.
- Cook until the butter melts and the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
- Pour the sauce over the lamb chops and serve immediately.