Grilled lamb chops with pineapple palapa

Putting a Filipino twist on an Australian classic, this is the perfect combination of flavourful, salty and sweet, with a punch of tartness from the vinegar, soy and fish sauce in the salsa making a great match with the lamb.

Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

A palapa is a sweet-spicy Filipino side dish or condiment.

Ingredients

• 1 kg lamb chops, at room temperature
• Sea salt and black pepper

Pineapple palapa

• 1 very ripe large pineapple
• 200 g brown sugar
• 1 knob ginger, finely chopped
• 1 stick lemongrass, trimmed, finely chopped
• 20 g red chillies, finely chopped
• Handful roughly chopped mixed herbs (coriander, mint, Vietnamese mint)
• 500 ml coconut vinegar
• 50 ml fish sauce
• 50 ml soy sauce

Resting time: 5 minutes.

Instructions

1. Heat a large grill pan over high heat (or use a barbecue). Season lamb chops with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, make the smoked pineapple palapa. Peel and cut the pineapple into thin slices. Sprinkle pineapple with brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook pineapple on the hot grill until tender and caramelised. Remove.
3. Cut the pineapple into small cubes and transfer to a large bowl with the rest of the palapa ingredients. Taste for balance and season with more soy sauce or sugar if needed.
4. Cook lamb chops on the same hot grill for a minute on each side. Remove. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Serve lamb dressed with pineapple palapa.

 

This recipe is from A Taste of the Philippines with Yasmin Newman. Photography by Kitti Gould.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

A palapa is a sweet-spicy Filipino side dish or condiment.