If you go to a farmer’s market in NYC right now, you’re going to see giant piles of tomatoes and peaches. I saw tomatoes last weekend that had to weigh 4 or 5 lbs. And anytime you see a plethora of a certain kind of produce, well, you know it’s probably in season and at it’s best. So I of course had to buy both peaches and tomatoes. Initially I was going to make a peach and tomato salad with some burrata and balsamic vinegar, but… **yawn**… excuse me. Anyways, that seemed a little bit boring. But I still wanted all those things together.

One way I like enjoy fresh tomatoes is in a really simple sauce. When you taste a sauce with perfect in-season tomatoes, it really makes a difference. And I thought, if peaches and tomatoes go well together for a salad, why not together in a sauce? I have to say, I’m glad I had that line of thinking and went with it, cause this sauce is amazing. I added in some fresh cayenne peppers I also found at the market, and it’s perfect on the herbaceous roast lamb; a little burrata with balsamic vinegar and wilted arugula ties the whole thing together.

Ingredients:

Chops

1 7-8 rib lamb roast

~ 12 sprigs rosemary, needles removed

1 T crushed red pepper

6 cloves garlic

2 T spicy brown mustard

1 T balsamic

2 T olive oil

Sauce

2 c chopped heirloom tomatoes

1 c chopped peaches (no skin)

3 shallots, chopped

1 cayenne pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup basil

1 T butter

The Rest

6 c arugula

2 T olive oil

2 T red wine vinegar

1/4 cup diced heirloom tomato

1 lb burrata

Balsamic vinegar to drizzle

• Score the fat side on your lamb roast; be careful not to cut into the skin.
• Season the roast with salt and pepper
• Blend the other ingredients into a paste, and rub onto roast
• Let sit at room temp covered for an hour
• Preheat oven to 450 F
• Heat a saucepan or pot on medium heat

• Add butter, shallots, garlic, and cayenne pepper
• Cook down until shallots are translucent
• Add peaches and tomatoes, and cook until tomatoes are mushy
• Remove from heat, add basil, and blend with immersion blender (can use regular blender, just make sure to keep your hand firmly on the lid while you blend); season with salt and pepper, and then set aside.
• Put roast into oven safe baking dish or roasting pan, and wrap each rib with a little foil so they don’t burn

• Cook for 20 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 135 F (this is for medium rare); the roast will keep cooking while resting, and eventually your internal temp will be up to ~145 F after resting for 10-15 minutes.
• While roast is resting, put sauce back on the stove on low heat
• Get a skillet going on medium high heat with 2 T olive oil and 2 T red wine vinegar
• Once hot, turn to low and add arugula; toss a couple times and turn off heat.
• Add salt and pepper, and continue to toss arugula in pan for about 30 seconds
• Put burrata in the middle of a platter
• Arrange the arugula around the burrata, and top with diced tomatoes
• Slice your roast into chops, and place around the edge of your platter
• Ladle the peach sauce onto the chops
• Drizzle balsamic over the burrata
• Enjoy! Feeds 2-3 people depending on appetites (possibly 4, but might be pushing it)