Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lamb rib chops give you handle on dinner
BONNIE S. BENWICK
Lamb rib chops are all fancy when presented as a rack of lamb, their bony ends trimmed to a fare-thee-well. But when they’re separated, easily, they become essentially meat lollipops — the smaller ones often featured as heavy hors d’oeuvres at the kind of parties from which you don’t go home hungry.
At the size you find most often at the supermarket, the chops also can turn into the kind of casual, pick-it-up-and-eat-it meal that cooks in less than 10 minutes. Here, the meat is pan-seared to a golden brown and left to rest for a bit while you finish a simple sauce in the blender.
All that’s left to do is to grab the chops by their untrimmed “handles” and dip the meaty ends again and again, until you only have bones to gnaw on.
To check the internal temperature, you’ll need a meat thermometer (preferably instant-read).
Serve with a quick saute of fresh spinach or Asian greens with tomatoes.
Lamb Chops With Lime Sauce For the sauce:
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 lime
2 cloves garlic
1 medium shallot
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1½ cups chicken broth
1 thick slice country bread (optional) For the lamb:
6 to 8 lamb rib chops
Kosher salt and ground black pepper Extra-virgin olive oil
For the sauce: Place the yogurt in fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl to drain.
Meanwhile, zest the lime, then cut the lime in half and squeeze a tablespoon of juice into a liquid measuring cup.
Coarsely chop the garlic and shallot. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over mediumlow heat. Stir in the shallot and cook 2 minutes, then stir in the garlic and cook 2 minutes.
Add the sugar, salt, pepper, half the lime zest and all the broth; increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring to make sure the sugar has dissolved. Cook 12 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Let cool while you cook the chops.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Season the chops generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Turn on the exhaust fan or open a window, as cooking will create some smoke. Add a drizzle of oil to the skillet, then add the chops. Sear 3 minutes on the first side for a nicely browned crust, then turn and cook 2 to 3 minutes on the second side (for medium-rare; registering about 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Transfer to a platter and cover loosely to keep warm.
Transfer the cooled saucepan mixture
Lamb Chops with Lime Sauce
to a blender. Add the yogurt and puree until smooth. (For a thicker sauce, tear the bread into pieces and add to the blender, then puree again, until smooth.)
Pour into a serving bowl, then stir in the remaining lime zest.
Serve the chops warm, with the sauce. Makes 2 to 3 servings. Adapted from Balaboosta: Bold Mediterranean Recipes to Feed the People You Love by Einat Admony