Lamb Chops in Creamy Mint Sauce

I’ve been told that I’m obsessed with lamb, which is not quite the case although I do love the taste and versatility of how it can be prepared. When you have a lot of this type of meat on hand- as we do now- you have to come up with clever and interesting ways to cook it to make it seem as though you’re not always eating the same thing.

I haven’t always been fond of making lamb chops, though. I avoided cooking it for years because of a guilty association I had with it since childhood, coming from an occasion I vividly recall:

My father used to take me to many fine restaurants as a child, so I grew up with a willingness and interest in trying a plethora of unique cuisines. One time while vacationing in Florida we visited a Greek restaurant. As a pre-teen, I found myself old enough to make my own decision from the menu and confidently told the waiter I would be ordering the lamb chops. They were delicious.  

They were also very expensive- $17.95 for just a couple of chops!  That’s pricey nowadays. Imagine back then…

I didn’t know what “market price” meant at the time and didn’t bother to ask. No one questioned me, either. License to eat? I thought so…

Hopefully I’m forgiven for it. Dad, I’m sure I owe you more than just a lamb chop dinner.

At least I can make my own now…

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-5 medium-size lamb chops
• sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoon whole milk
• one handful of freshly cut mint

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a large oven-proof sauté pan, heat olive oil.
3. Salt and pepper both side of the chops.
4. Add lamb to sauté pan and cook on one side until the meat easily turns over without any pulling or tearing, approximately 3-4 minutes. Do the same to the other side.
5. Put entire pan into the middle rack of the oven (be sure there are no handles on your pan that will melt in the oven).
6. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Remove pan from oven (make sure to use thick potholders or oven gloves because the metal handle will be extremely hot).
8. Add whipping cream, milk and mint to pan by simply pouring into the bottom of the pan, not on top of the meat.
9. Return pan to oven and continue to roast for an additional five minutes, or until meat is thoroughly cooked on the inside. Be sure to keep an eye on the sauce if you decide to cook for longer than five minutes. It will begin to curdle and burn if kept too long in the oven.

Bismillah and Bon Appetit!

Tagged as: cream sauce, mint