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Master Chef André Soltner, former chef/owner of New York's famous Lutèce Restaurant, and Senior Lecturer at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, joined Royal Olympia Cruises' on board cultural enrichment program as a guest chef aboard Olympic Voyager's April 16, 2001 12-day Transatlantic Discovery cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona and the April 28, 2001 7-day European Serenade Cruise from Barcelona to Athens.

This recipe, to wet your appetite, is a special lamb dish from The Lutèce Cookbook by André Soltner with Seymour Britchky

Côtes d’Agneau à la Croûte de Pommes de Terre
(Lamb Chops in a Potato Crust)

Serves 2

The Shopping List:
1 pound medium potatoes, unpeeled, washed
salt
4 rib lamb chops
pepper, fresh ground
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 ample tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 egg
3 tablespoons (3/8 stick) unsalted butter

Putting it all together:
In a saucepan bring the potatoes to the boil in salted water. Cover, and simmer until the potatoes are soft – about 20 minutes. Discard the water. Cook the potatoes over low heat, uncovered, for about 5 minutes more, to dry them.
Set the potatoes aside, uncovered, to cool.
Trim most of the fat from the lamb chops. Salt and pepper them.
In a skillet, heat the oil. Brown the lamb chops quickly and put on a plate and let them cool.
Peel the potatoes, and then grate them into a bowl, using the coarser side of a four-sided grater (or the grater attachment of a food processor). Add salt and pepper, the flour and the egg. Mix gently with a wooden spatula. Press this mixture onto the surfaces and sides of the lamb chops.
In a skillet, melt the butter. Sauté the chops over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side. The potato crust should be nicely browned and crisp, and the meat inside should be pink but warmed through.
Note: Serve with a green salad.



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