This recipe teaches you how to make perfect lamb chops. Lamb is one of the healthiest red meats and is very rich in immune-boosting selenium. It it’s even more perfect with rosemary a side of classic mint chutney.Lamb not only tastes great, but it’s an excellent source of B vitamins like B12, B1, B2, B3, B6, niacin, folate, biotin, pantothenic acid, and choline. It’s important to get adequate amounts of B vitamins as they are used up fast during stress and give you energy.
Many don’t realize that meat, and especially red meat like lamb, is an important source of minerals. Lamb contains much needed iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus and other minerals.
Grassfed lamb is very high in healthy omega-3 fats! The omega-3 content of lamb depends upon the young sheep’s diet as well as the mother’s diet. When a lamb eats its natural grass diet, the result can be a cut of lamb with an impressive amount of omega-3s. Grassfed lamb has been shown to average at least 25% more omega-3s than conventionally fed lamb, including as much as 49% more ALA (alpha-linolenic acid, the basic building block for omega-3s). You get about 40 milligrams of omega-3s per ounce of roasted lamb.
When choosing lamb, ideally you want grassfed and organic. If you have to choose between them, get grassfed. It has the healthiest fat profile of low omega-6 and high omega-3.
Ingredients
4 large garlic cloves, pressed- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, lightly crushed
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 6 1 1/4-inch-thick lamb loin chops
Mint Chutney for lamb
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup coarsely chopped mint
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Step 1
Mix the first four ingredients – garlic, thyme, rosemary and salt with 1 tablespoon olive oil in large bowl. Add lamb; turn to coat. Let marinate at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add lamb; cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast lamb chops to desired doneness, about 10 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to platter, cover, and let rest 5 minutes before cutting your chops.
Step 3
Make your mint chutney. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and a pinch of salt to a paste, and transfer to a small bowl. Pound the mint and parsley, and add this to the garlic. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, ¼ tsp. salt and ⅛ tsp. ground pepper, and stir well to combine.
