Almond Crusted Lamb Chops

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The only lamb chop I ever knew was that singing puppet…..I never ate lamb before to know whether I liked it or not, but it always looked appetizing to me. I went out on a limb here to make a dish that I wasn’t sure what it should taste like. Luckily, my husband is of European decent and grew up eating lamb so I nominated him the official taste tester. I’ve heard if you over cook the lamb it could be gamey, so the perfect temperature is medium rare. This part was a bit tricky as I didn’t want to ruin this slightly expensive meat, so I watched the clock for an exact 3 minutes cooking time on each side. I pulled together some of my favorite flavors (including wine of course) and whatever I thought might give this dish some good taste. I love fresh raspberries and I had a hunch their tartness would work well with the mild taste of the lamb and the sweet crunch of the almonds. Turns out I can make Lamb and I’m slowly getting better at this food plating thing!

Ingredients:

Lamb Chops

1 package of lamb chops (about 8 chops)

3 cloves fresh garlic crushed

1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon)

2 tablespoons dry white white

garlic powder to taste

salt to taste

cracked peppercorn mixture to taste

Seasoned sunflower basting oil

1/4 cup crushed almonds

Raspberry Glaze

1 cup fresh raspberries

2 tablespoon raspberry wine vinegar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

fresh squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Lamb Chops

Trim excess fat and separate the rack into individual chops. Generously season all chops with salt and cracked peppercorn. In a large freezer bag, mix together Dijon mustard, white wine, crushed garlic cloves, and seasoned chops. Let marinate in fridge for about 2-3 hours. In a small bowl, crush almond slices into small pieces. Remove chops from marinade and generously season both sides of each chop with more salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dip chops into crushed almonds, coating only the back where the bone is, leaving the sides uncoated. In a large skillet over medium heat, add a thin layer of basting oil. Once oil is heated, pan sear chops for 3 minutes on each side for a medium rare temperature. Drizzle raspberry glaze over chops for flavor. Serve with sauteed zucchini and smashed red skin potatoes.

Raspberry Glaze

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add raspberries, raspberry wine vinegar, water, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and crush raspberries. Continue to cook and stir mixture for about 5 minutes, until it reaches a thin syrup consistency. Drain seeds and any raspberry pieces, so just liquid remains. Pour over lamb chops.

Enjoy!

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1 Comment

  • Mary March 31, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Looks delicious! So pretty! Not a fan of lamb but would try these!

    Reply

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