Chef combines lamb and 'warm Caesar salad with pasta added'

Brooke Vosika, executive chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City, oversees the hotel's culinary operations, including its Fifty Seven Fifty Seven restaurant. A native of Philadelphia, he started working for the hotel company in 1982, soon after graduating from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Focusing his attention on American lamb, he's worked out a recipe for what he considers "a well-rounded dinner" consisting of lamb chops with Caesar-style pasta -- "that's really a warm Caesar salad with pasta added to it," he said.

"The idea is that all the great flavors of a Caesar salad (Romaine lettuce dressed with Parmesan cheese, garlic, anchovies, black pepper, olive oil) can be mixed into a pasta dish, and then marry well with the loin chops."

He likes the chops best grilled, and says he developed the recipes for lamb and pasta so they'd resemble traditional favorites, "and be quick and easy to prepare."

Grilled Lamb Chops

(Marinade 1 hour, grill 20 minutes)

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

4 lamb loin chops, 4 to 5 ounces each

Combine black pepper, olive oil, oregano and garlic. Marinate the lamb in the mixture for 1 hour. Place the lamb chops on a medium-hot grill and cook about 10 minutes each side, for medium-rare. Rest 10 minutes at room temperature. Serve on top of Caesar-Style Pasta.

Caesar-Style Pasta1 tablespoon finely chopped anchovies

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

1/2 pound spaghetti, precooked, rinsed and chilled

1 1/2 cups Romaine lettuce, sliced thin

3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Add chilled spaghetti, Romaine lettuce and Parmesan cheese to the bowl with the dressing, and toss together. Season to taste with salt and black pepper; serve on 4 dinner plates, topped with lamb chops.

Makes 4 servings.

(Recipe for the AP developed by executive chef Brooke Vosika of the Four Seasons Hotel, New York City, on behalf of the American Lamb Board.)

On the Net:

www.lambinformation.org