The next in our series of monthly blog posts by the incredibly talented Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant.

29 April 2025

Top of the Chops

The older you get everything speeds up. We’re all living our best lives and the Irish hustle is as real as The Pink Pony Club. Spring has well and truly sprung; lambs are leaping and Irish farmers are busy planting and growing.  For this month’s recipe, Top of the Chops, we’re using the iconic Pestle and Mortar Green Basil Pesto, made in Galway with basil grown in Ireland all year round, what a slay.

I’m hot dropping two outstanding recipes that will help you get ready for all your Bank Holiday and spring visitors, and impress friends and in-laws or outlaws (as we like to call ourselves in David’s family).

These are all simple ingredients to make a Lamb Rack cut into chops, dressed with a stunning spring pesto dressing and a Spring Pea Mimosa. Ingredients so quick to get that you can pop under a closing supermarket roller door and have your hands on them in 20 mins, and that gives you more time to Instagram some wild garlic in the woods and forest bathe – head-diving into some Martha Stewart vibes.

I’ve added this really cute recipe for Rhubarb Mini Pavlovas to keep the golden oldies happy while the little ones circle them like a windy Dublin Ryanair landing.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

2 lamb racks cut into chops

Salt and pepper to serve

Spring Pea Mimosa

300 grams of garden peas

10 whole sliced radishes

2 bunches of asparagus (grilled)

1 hand full of mint

1 hand full of parsley

The zest of a lemon

1 hand full of green olives

1 tub of Pestle and Mortar pesto

Dressing

200 grams of yoghurt

10 grams of sumac

1 clove of garlic (minced on a micro plane)

Method

1. In a griddle pan, cook your lamb chops as you wish, then in a separate pot, cook your peas and pop them in a bowl with the grilled asparagus, olives, sliced radishes and herbs, season. Add a little drizzle of olive oil and zest of lemon and toss.
2. In a separate bowl add your garlic, sumac, smashed garlic and yoghurt and mix together into a dressing. Next, take a serving plate and adorn with your yoghurt dressing, place your spring pea mimosa on top and garnish with lamb chops, a few extra herbs and your stunning basil pesto.

Aperol Rhubarb Roasted Mini Pavlovas for the Winner

Ingredients

For the Rhubarb

200 grams of rhubarb

90 grams of sugar

50 mls of Aperol

For the Pavlova

8 egg whites

400 grams of sugar

4 tsp of cornflour

20 mls of apple cider vinegar

To serve

Lashings of whipped cream

Method

1. Chop up all your rhubarb, toss in your sugar, add the Aperol, then set aside for ten mins and roast in a hot oven for 25 mins at 180 degrees.
2. For the pavlova, whisk the egg whites and sugar until they reach a stiff peak, then add the cornflour and cider vinegar. Pop small quantities on a tray, laid with greaseproof paper, into an oven (preheated to 130 degrees) for 2 hours or until they are dry and crisp. Let them cool down and add lashings of cream and top each pavlova with the rhubarb and Aperol mix.

Jess Murphy