Herb Marinated Lamb Chops

Happy 2014!

This is my first recipe of the New Year. I usually make lentils on New Years Day, but lamb it was going to be.

This is my favorite lamb chop recipe to date.
Of course it's from Ottolenghi's first book, where else?

We were served this at the Food & Wine Dinner back in October, and it was memorable.

This is the perfect dinner party food, so if you find lamb chops or rack of lamb on sale, buy it and freeze it for your next soirée.

You can find very good quality lamb at Costco believe it or not, and I bought New Zealand rack of lamb at Trader Joe's and it was delicious (a tip from one of my readers who recreated the Ottolenghi menu from the dinner in Oct.).

The recipe calls for marinating the lamb overnight, however, I only had 6 hours and it was still delicious.

Here's how:

Ottolenghi's Herb Marinated Lamb Chops: (serves 4)

2.5 lb. rack of lamb, French style (ask the butcher to do this for you)
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of sunflower oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp water (I omitted)

Pulse all the marinade ingredients in a food processor until herbs are chopped.

Cut the rack of lamb into 2-3 ribs per person.

Place in a glass (non metal) dish and pour marinade over lamb. Marinate 12 hours, preferably overnight, turning once.

When ready to cook, remove lamb from marinade (reserving marinade) and shake off excess liquid.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sear the chops for a minute on each side in a heavy, good quality grill pan, until seared on all sides.

Transfer the chops to a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in a 400F oven, for medium to medium rare temperature (if you let them rest a while, the pink will be gone).

Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan and boil until it reduces and becomes syrupy.

Once the lamb is done, pour the sauce over the chops and serve w/ roasted potatoes.

You can serve these hot or at room temperature.
Slice down the rib to have 2 chops per person.

PERFECT!

Happy New Year!