Lamb Chops

(All Recipes have Gluten-Free Options)

Lamb Loin Chops with Burnt Shallots & Peas (Serves 2-3…4?!)

This is a recipe from the cookbook ‘Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain’. It’s a deliciously simple, satisfying dish. The gravy is particularly tasty with the mint and peas and is wonderful served on a pile of creamy mashed potato. Kerridge suggests using fresh peas which when in season would be fantastic, however, I cook this with frozen peas and it’s still delicious! It seems that Kerridge likes his portions large as he states it’s a recipe that serves 2-3 people, but it would be a seriously large portion for two as I think two chops per person are enough. If you want to serve four, I would simply add two extra chops, another handful of peas and ensure that the gravy doesn’t reduce too much.

6 lamb loin chops (or 8 – see note above)

6-8 shallots, peeled and halved

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

200ml white wine

400ml lamb stock

120g peas, fresh or defrosted if frozen (see note above)

2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons mint leaves, roughly chopped

30g butter, diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  1. Season the lamb chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Place a large non-stick sauté pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the lamb chops, fat side down first to render the fat, for 2-3 minutes. Now lay down the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove the chops from the pan and set aside on a plate.
  2. Add the shallot halves to the pan, cut side down and cook for 4-5 minutes until well charred on that side. Remove from the pan and set aside with the chops.
  3. Toss the garlic into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Now pour in the stock and cook until the liquor is reduced by half again (see note above for serving four people).
  4. Return the lamb chops and the shallots to the pan and add the peas and rosemary. Simmer for a couple of minutes until the peas are cooked and the chops warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the wine vinegar and mint and season with salt and pepper to taste. Finally, stir through the butter to enrich the sauce.
  5. Transfer the chops, shallots, peas and sauce to warmed plates and serve at once, with creamy mashed potato (recipe here!).

Barnsely Chops with Cumin, Coriander & Orange (Serves 4)

These lamb chops are a super quick meal to cook – they are great on a week night when you really don’t have the time or energy to think about cooking. The cumin and coriander, with the lovely zing of orange, really make this easy dinner extra special, serve simply with potatoes or rice and some steamed greens or a green salad. I found this recipe in Tom Kerridge’s cookbook, ‘Best Ever Dishes’, and it’s definitely one of those!

4 thick Barnsley chops

4 tablespoons cumin seeds

4 tablespoons coriander seeds

Vegetable oil

15g butter

juice of 1 lemon

finely grated zest of 2 oranges

sea salt and black pepper

  1. In a dry frying pan, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until they are lightly toasted (a few minutes). Crush the seeds finely in a pestle and mortar, then sieve them on to a plate to get rid of any woody bits.
  2. Push one side of the chop into the spice mixture making sure it gets a good coating. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it is hot place the chops in the pan so that they are standing on their outer fat side, cook until the fat runs out and the skin starts to brown, then pour off this fat.
  4. Turn the chops, seasoned-side down, and cook for  8-10 minutes, until dark brown and caramelised. Turn the chops over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes for medium-rare lamb.
  5. Add the butter and lemon juice to the pan, and baste the chops with the buttery juice. Remove to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.
  6. Serve the chops with the grated orange zest sprinkled over.

Lamb Chops & Parsley Butter served on a Bed of Watercress with New Potatoes (Serves 4)

Despite the simplicity of this recipe it has lots of flavour. The watercress is an excellent accompaniment to the lamb and the parsley butter with its touch of lemon juice enhances the flavours superbly. A real midweek treat! You won’t use all the butter, but it is great to have in the freezer – ready to slice and add to steamed potatoes on any occasion. This recipe calls for curly parsley rather than flat leaf, simply as it adds a little more texture and has a milder flavour, but you can use either type.

400g new potatoes

8 lamb chops

A little olive oil

100g butter, softened and cubed

A bunch of curly parsley, chopped (see note above)

Juice of ½ lemon

200g watercress, trimmed

Sea salt and black pepper

  1. First make the parsley butter. Place the butter in a bowl with the chopped parsley, lemon juice and seasoning, mix well. Spoon on to a sheet of cling film and roll into a log shape, place in the freezer, wrapped in the clingfilm. Do not wash up the bowl that you used for mixing the butter – you can use it to season the steamed potatoes when serving!
  2. Steam the potatoes for 20 minutes or so until cooked.
  3. Meanwhile place the watercress on your plates.
  4. Season the lamb chops and brush with a little olive oil, fry on a griddle pan (or in a normal frying pan) for about 2½-3 minutes each side so that they are still pink in the middle. Place the chops on the plates, on top of the watercress.
  5. Now take your reserved ‘butter bowl’ and place the cooked potatoes in it, mix them around so that they get a good coating of the leftover butter, then place them on the plates.
  6. Finally cut four slices from the parsley butter and place on top of the chops.

Pomegranate & Honey Glazed Chops with a Radish and Cucumber Tzatziki (Serves 4)

This recipe is from Diana Henry’s cookbook ‘Pure, Simple Cooking’, it is one of those cookbooks which I find myself going back to again and again, it has lots of really simple yet stunning recipes. This recipe has the flavours of Greece, it is a perfect summer dish, and if the UK weather permits, even better al fresco! I like to serve it with white long grain rice. Make sure you allow time to marinate the chops, anything from 1-24 hours – but the longer the tastier!..

8 thick lamb chops (chump chops)

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Marinade:

2½ tablespoons pomegranate molasses

8 tablespoons olive oil

1½ tablespoons honey

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Radish and Cucumber Tzatziki

200g radishes, finely sliced

½ cucumber, cut into small cubes

300g plain Greek-style yogurt

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons mint, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

To serve:

Large bunch of coriander, leaves picked

Olive oil

1 lemon

3 tablespoons of fresh pomegranate seeds

  1. Mix the marinade ingredients together, coat the chops generously and leave to marinate, refrigerated, for 1 to 24 hours.
  2. To make the Tzatziki simply mix the radishes, cucumber, yogurt and garlic together, then stir through the mint leaves and olive oil.
  3. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, cook the chops for about 3 minutes on each side, do not have the heat up too high otherwise you will burn the honey and pomegranate mixture.
  4. Serve the chops on a bed of the coriander leaves, dressed with a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and the tzatziki on the side, sprinkle over pomegranate seeds. Serve with rice.

Lamb Chops with Shallot Chutney (Serves 4)

This recipe is best cooked on a griddle pan, but you can use a regular frying pan. The tangy chutney complements the lamb beautifully; it really is a winning combination. This recipe is from Marcus Wareing’s book ‘Marcus at Home’, despite being a Michelin starred, super chef, his recipes in this book (as the name suggests), are mostly straightforward and of course tasty! I like to serve this dish with tarragon green beans (courtesy of ‘Leiths How to Cook’ book), as I think that they work particularly well with the chutney, you can find the recipe for these on my Recipes Pages.

8 lamb loin chops

olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

For The Shallot Chutney…

3 large echalion shallots, chopped

200ml malt vinegar, plus 1 tablespoon

50g capers

30g caster sugar

2 teaspoons nigella seeds(optional)

  1. To make the shallot chutney, put the shallots, 200ml vinegar, capers, caster sugar, nigella seeds (optional) and 75ml of water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and reduce until there is no liquid remaining. Finally stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
  2. Heat the griddle pan (or frying pan) until very hot. Brush the lamb chops with oil and season with salt and pepper. First place the chops in the pan on their fat-side, lean them against each other for support. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the fat renders and becomes crisp.
  3. Lay the chops on their sides and cook 3-5 minutes on each side, basting with the rendered fat. Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Serve with the tarragon green beans, some buttered new potatoes and drizzle the shallot chutney over the top.