Recipe: Lamb Chops Champvallon

Name: Lamb Chops Champvallon
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 12 côtes d'agneau de belle qualité, découvertes de 80 g chacune environ (si vous en trouvez de Pré-Salé); 6 pommes de terre moyennes (charlotte ou Bintje) épluchées, lavées, émincées finement et essuyées, ou des pommes nouvelles de Ré ou de Noirmoutier juste essuyées; 2 gros oignons (Roscoff si vous trouvez) émincés finement; 3 gousses d'ail (dégermées, écrasées et hachées); 1 feuille de laurier coupée en deux; 1 pincée de fleur de thym frais; 6 dl de bouillon de bœuf préparé; Sel et poivre du moulin; Beurre et huile; Un peu de poudre de cèpes (optionnel)

By chef patrick Asfaux ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 (10 reviews) Meat

Prep 30 min

Cook 90 min

Total 2h

Servings 6 serv.

Legend has it that Madame de Champvallon prepared this recipe for Louis XIV, who was fond of Madame de Maintenon's lamb chops, so she could share his bed (which indeed happened that very evening).

Ingredients for 6 servings

12 high-quality lamb chops, frenched, about 80 g each (ideally salt-marsh lamb)
6 medium potatoes (charlotte or Bintje), peeled, washed, finely sliced and dried, or new potatoes from Ré or Noirmoutier, simply wiped
2 large onions (Roscoff if you can find them), finely sliced
3 cloves garlic (degerminated, crushed and chopped)
1 bay leaf cut in half
1 pinch of fresh thyme flowers
6 dl prepared beef broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Butter and oil
A little porcini powder (optional)

Step-by-step directions

1 In a large sauté pan, add your butter and oil, then once it reaches a nice colour, add your chops to roast. Season with salt and pepper, roast for five minutes on each side, making sure the butter does not burn.

2 Preheat your oven to 200 °C (gas mark 6-7) or to 100 °C if you want to cook at low temperature.

3 Remove the chops and transfer them to an ovenproof earthenware dish.

4 In the same sauté pan, add the sliced onions and let them soften, then after five minutes, add half of the broth (mix in the porcini powder if you have it), bring to a boil and pour over the chops to cover them (if you need more liquid, add a little water). Place a third of the chopped garlic and the bay leaf halves on either side of the dish and sprinkle with thyme flowers.

5 Cook in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.

6 Remove the dish, cover the chops with the sliced potatoes, the remaining garlic and pour over the remaining half of the broth.

7 Return to the oven for 45 minutes. If the top browns too much, cover with aluminium foil. Make sure to baste from time to time. At the end of cooking, all the broth will have been absorbed by the meat and potatoes. The dish will then look like a gratin. Serve in the centre of the table. Close your eyes and tell me if you've ever tasted potatoes with a flavour like that before!

Chef Patrick's Comment

This recipe is already excellent, but if you make it with salt-marsh lamb chops and new potatoes from Ré or Noirmoutier, it will then aim for the exceptional.

To make this dish using low-temperature cooking, add your lamb chops, then your potatoes and broth with the onions, and cook for 4 to 5 hours at 100 °C, absolutely delicious.

Pommes de terre Cuisson agneau Côtes d'agneau Plat traditionnel Agneau du quercy Plat complet