Nothing beats the first few days of spring. The ones where you voluntarily venture outside just to enjoy being outdoors. For what feels like the first time in 18 months, you take off a layer of knitwear and marvel at the joy of drinking beer in the sunshine, wondering why on earth anyone lives in the Northern Hemisphere.On these blue-skied days, you need something appropriately fresh and springlike to eat. Something you can enjoy on the balcony, sitting on battered garden furniture, before decamping indoors because, actually, it is kinda cold when the sun goes down.
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Lamb. What's more fresh and springlike than lamb?We're not talking about frolicking newborns. We mean grilled lamb chops—ones you could conceivably grill on a barbecue, should the balmy weather hold out.RECIPE: Grilled Galilean Lamb ChopsThese Galilean lamb chops come from northern Israel, via chef Eyal Jagermann, who works at lauded Middle Eastern restaurant The Barbary and recently joined us for an Israeli food tour of London.What makes these chops different from your mum's standard cutlets is the Galilei sauce, which Jagermann tells us is inspired by the one they make at Magdalena, a restaurant that sits on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It's a fragrant combo of mint, olive oil, yogurt, and toasted pine nuts and marries perfectly with marinated meat—and al fresco dining.Spring, what took you so long?