Lamb burger with Brandy Wine Heirloom Tomato, Olive, and Caper Relish on Creamy Polenta and Rainbow Chard with Boiler Onions, topped with melted Fresh Mozzarella and a Spritz of Aged Balsamic Vinegar- Scallions, and Basil from the summer garden. Three of these vegetables used in this dinner were hand-picked at their prime. The chard in the dish was quick braised with some small diced caramelized onion in duck fat and chicken broth. To attain nice tight sliced onions I cooked them twice. To achieve this I first roasted and then cooled the onions, once cold I sliced them and recooked them in the cast iron pan along with my lamb burger. The relish features capers and kalamata olive halves that I rinsed well before adding to the fresh chopped brandy wine tomatoes, diced red onions, Anaheim peppers, basil and scallions. The basil and scallions grew very in cloth grow bags.
Bringing on the Flavor in Late Summer 2025
Garden to Table Dishes to Inspire You
In this post I will share two of my recent favorite home cooked dinners that utilized fresh picked vegetables and herbs from our garden. In the image above is a hearty salad made with purple potatoes and green beans. I tossed them with spicy sauteed shrimp, sliced andouille sausage and garnished it with 12-minute boiled cage free eggs. The vinaigrette was made with one-part white balsamic vinegar and three parts extra virgin olive oil, that ratio is the typical amount used in most simple vinaigrettes. By using the same ratio with various vinegars and oils many vinaigrettes can be created. The salad was seasoned with basil, scallions, red onion, celery and Anaheim peppers. Then sprinkled with fresh cracked pepper and served with chopped lettuce. Simple, healthy and super tasty.
Here is one of my favorite recipes for grilled lamb chops that use fresh harvested tomatoes. The choice to peel and seed them can be optional. Sometime, if I have perfectly ripe tomatoes, I will dice them whole or alternately just cut out the cores containing the seeds before I dice them.
Grilled Lamb Chops with Kalamata Olive Relish and Mediterranean Salad
Yield: 24 each or 8 portions
Grilled Lamb Chops
24 -single bone lamb pork chops marinated, in olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil and a touch of sugar
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper for seasoning
Kalamata Olive Relish
1 cup Kalamata olives: rinsed, blanched, and chopped
¼ cup red onion: thinly diced and blanched
¼ cup red bell pepper: finely diced and blanched
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup Roma tomatoes: skin and seeds removed and fine diced (optional technique can be done by dicing the whole tomatoes)
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon sherry or balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh pepper
Mediterranean Salad
1 quart spring mixed greens
1 quart chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup artichoke hearts (canned) cut in quarters
1 cup diced Roma tomatoes
½ cup red onion cut in julienne
1 cup feta cheese in crumbles
2 cups croutons
1 recipe balsamic vinaigrette
Method:
- Mix all ingredients for olive relish and set aside.
- Over hot coals, grill the lamb chops to medium rare (130˚ F).
- Toss together all salad ingredients with balsamic vinaigrette.
- Place salad in a large bowl and top with the lamb chops. Finish with the olive relish.
