Two weeks ago, there was a sale at Dominion on lamb chops. I paid $1.25 for two decent sized chops. Lamb isn't something I make very often, and this is probably the second time in my life that I've ever made it. The first time was for Nick when I made lamb chops in a red wine balsamic reduction; I didn't really like it so much. I've been saving those babies in the freezer for a long time because I never really had a moment to cook them until today. It's been raining and thundering outside, thus, staying in has never been this good.
This is an efficient recipe that will compliment and help bring out the natural flavour of lamb quite nicely. For those of you who do not eat lamb because of that funky taste, the lemon in the recipe will help tone it waaay down. The parmesan cheese was a last minute improvisation but it worked really well to help tone down the acidity of the lemon.
This time, here is what I used:
IN "greedy" in-its (aka Ingredients):
2 lamb chops ($1.25)
1 shallot, chopped finely ($0.25)
1/2 of a lemon ($0.50)
2 tsps of rosemary (or to taste) ($0.05)
3 tsps of grated parmesan cheese ($0.50)
2 tbsps of olive oil ($0.75)
2 tbsps of red wine ($0.75)
3 tsps of butter ($0.10)
salt and pepper to taste ($0.02)
Total cost: $4.17
Instructions:
1) Place lamb chops in a mixing bowl and add chopped shallots, lemon juice, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. You can leave it in the fridge for a few hours or NOT. You can skip this step because the lemon and rosemary, being the main flavour agents are strong enough to go without a long marinade period.
2) Next, in a deep skillet, heat up olive oil. When the oil is ready to go, place the lamb chops and everything else in the bowl onto the skillet. Keep the stove on medium heat. Cook the lamb on each side for about 3 minutes each. You will want to see a golden beige colour on each size. The lamb should still feel resilient when you poke it when your spatula. Your lamb chops should be at a medium rare at this point. Personally, I think lamb chops are best served at medium to medium rare standards.
3) The lamb is pretty much cooked by this point. Turn the stove down to a low heat. Now for the fun part, you can add the red wine and butter. Make sure you take time to smell the gorgeous aromas that you should now be producing. Who doesn't love alchemy? *sigh* The sauce should be cooked for 2 minutes.
4) Serve on a plate and enjoy! Please don't bother with frou frou garnishes unless you're cooking for someone special. *wink*
Sherri Lewis, may you rest in peace. Your song will "never end" because "it goes on and on my friend."
Music of the moment: Ella Fitzgerald: Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
NB: I apologize for the absence of photos. The reason I don't have one is because I devoured it before I made the decision to create a food blog. I promise this won't happen again!
