For the lamb:

2 cups hazelnuts, skins removed
4 6-ounce lamb loins, trimmed of silver skin
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Chop the hazelnuts in a food processor.

Strain any fine dust (the fine dust will burn when you cook the loins). Press the chopped hazelnuts onto the lamb loins and season with salt and pepper. Cook the lamb in a sauté pan with olive oil to desired temperature. Make sure to let the meat rest before serving. Typically you want to rest the meat as long as it takes to cook it.

Tips for the lamb: When preparing meat, always remove it from the refrigerator and season it 5 minutes before cooking so the salt and spices can penetrate. In the restaurant

I like to do a time-consuming technique, finishing the meat by basting it with butter, garlic and thyme. This works great when you have a sous chef and seven other cooks to help you out. At home I try to get the same flavor by first roasting a smashed clove of garlic in my cooking oil until browned. I then discard the garlic and cook the meat in the very same pan, getting that wonderful fresh garlic aroma from the infused oil. Keep in mind that when you cook meat on both sides you push all the juices to the center. A meat cooked this way and cut immediately will lose all of its juices and taste dry. That’s why you have to let the meat rest, preferably on a resting rack so the air can circulate all around it and the juices are absorbed back into the meat again. Plan ahead and give meat the time it deserves.

For the rainbow chard:

1 bunch red chard, stems and leaves diced
1 star anise
2 shallots, finely sliced
Olive oil
1⁄2 cup ruby red port
1 bunch white chard, stems and leaves diced
1 bunch yellow chard, stems and leaves diced
3 tablespoons butter
1⁄2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Sauté the red chard stems, star anise and shallots in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the diced red chard leaves and port. Reduce for 5 minutes. Using 1 tablespoon of butter, sauté the yellow and white chard stems and leaves separately to keep their color. Before serving, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the vinegar. Adjust the red chard and port sauce by reducing the sauce to desired consistency.

For the parsnip gratin:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1 Russet potato, peeled and finely sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and finely sliced
1 1⁄2 cups cream
1 cup grated parmesan

Sauté the onions in olive oil for 5 minutes without giving them color. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook until wine is completely evaporated. Add the potatoes, parsnips and cream. Let the mixture cook for 5 more minutes and then add almost all of the parmesan. Transfer to a 2-inch-tall baking dish. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top and bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes or until a crust forms and there is just a touch of resistance when you insert a knife in to the gratin.

Alternatively, the gratin can be finished under the broiler to achieve a crust.

Comments: The sweet and strong flavor of the parsnip is toned down by adding a potato so as not to overpower the rest of the dish. The rainbow chard creates its own sauce by “bleeding” into the port wine. This makes for easy home cooking with all of the wonderful nutritious value and fall flavors. The hazelnut on the lamb rounds out the dish for a harmonizing flavor combination.