Fireplace-grilled lamb chops with salsa macha and slow-roasted fennel

Stem and seed the dried chilies, tear them flat and cut into small pieces with scissors.

Heat two cups of olive oil in a pot over about medium; add peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds and four halved garlic cloves and bring to a low simmer, about five minutes, until the garlic and sesame brown.

Add the chilies; crush in a little Mexican oregano and dried thyme; add a tablespoon of vinegar mixed with a teaspoon of salt.

Pulse in a blender to chop the larger pieces, especially the nuts.

Cut the stalks off the fennel, trim the root end, and cut each half into four or five pieces; lay in a pan.

Drizzle the fennel with the oily part of the salsa macha, add about a quarter cup of water, cover with foil and roast at 325 for just over an hour until tender.

Smear salsa macha over both sides of the lamb chops and sprinkle with salt.

Grill over a wood fire in the fireplace to medium rare, about three or four minutes per side.