Lamb Chops with Butternut Squash and Persillade

I feel bad about the butternut squash, I really do. It doesn't exactly scream springtime. Trouble is, ever since I saw Elise's combination of lamb shanks and butternut squash, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this heavenly-sounding combination. But the moment of truth came when I actually read the recipe (rather than just drooling over the photos): this was purely a Sunday night affair with browning and braising and hours of simmering away. But I just couldn't wait.

Fall and deep winter might be butternut squash's high shine time, but would you know you can buy peeled chunks of fresh butternut squash at some grocery stores in March? And isn't March sort of a transition month, anyway, what with the way it blows in like a lion? So please, forgive me the butternut squash. No matter what the fantasy life looks like, we can't all be Alice Waters all the time. Sometimes, you just gotta reach for the frozen pureed squash, farmer's market be damned. And with this knowledge, the lazy girl in me could feel a triumph coming on.

I swapped out affordable lamb shoulder chops for the slow-cooking shanks. I used pre-prepped butternut squash so I didn't have to wrestle with a sharp peeler and bowling pin-size squash in the hours when my hand-eye coordination is waning. I sautéed some zucchini in a flash. But I wanted my supper to have the brightness of spring even if it wasn't dancing with asparagus, ramps, and peas. The lamb chops, at the very least, promised that. So I tried my hand at what I remembered my imaginary boyfriend, Jacques, had whipped up with my gal pal Julia and made look fantastically simple: persillade.

Jacques Pepin has been known to make a lot of things look utterly effortless that just, well, aren't. He can butcher a whole chicken or cut up a fish into neat little fillets in the time it takes me to refill my root beer. But this persillade was no slight of hand. It is just a matter of chopping, is made out of two staples you probably have rolling around in your vegetable drawer at this moment, adds fresh exuberance to your dish, and is perhaps my new favorite thing. Next to, you know, this.



Lamb Chops with Butternut Squash and Persillade
Serves 2

2 lamb shoulder chops, 6-8 ounces each
20 ounce package peeled butternut squash chunks or a 12 ounce package frozen pureed squash
2 zucchinis, sliced thinly into rounds
olive oil
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
1/4 cup finely minced garlic

Place squash chunks in a largish saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until fork tender. Drain, mash, and season with salt and pepper. (Unless you go totally bananas for the stuff, there will most likely be some squash leftover -- 20 ounces is a quite a bit for two people.) If using frozen squash, prepare according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small pan over moderately high heat, and cook zucchini, stirring every few minutes, until soft and browned in spots, about 10 minutes total.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in another small pan (okay, one drawback to this recipe is that we've already got three dirty pots and pans...) and sear lamb chops, 2 minutes on each side for medium rare. Remove to plate and cover to keep warm. Combine the parsley and garlic and throw into the hot pan. Shake and stir for about 15-20 seconds or just until garlic is aromatic. Serve up butternut squash, zucchini, and lamb, with persillade on top.