A chop of the ole block....I mean lamb chop!

Balancing work, school, your spouse, family, friends and life in general is cool...once you have a passion, a hobby or any one singular thing to keep you grounded and in many cases prevent you from tipping over into the realm of insanity.

I'm in my second semester in my first year at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business reading for my Master in Marketing. My class is the perfect mix of the most interesting people... I am so fortunate. One of my classmates Monique (name changed) asked for some recipes the other day...some easy recipes for meals to try and whist I gave her a few I totally forgot this one and it is the EASIEST ever...trust me. Give it a try... it will definitely please those of you who love lamb.

Lamb is "gamy" in taste. This simply means the meat has a very strong, unmistakable taste. We don't want to get rid of the flavour of the meat, but to find the appropriate spices and seasonings to work with the meat's natural flavours.

I'm going to give you the ingredients of a very simple marinade and trust me...nothing is easier. A throw everything in a bag recipe.

Ingredients

6 lamb shoulder chops
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 of a lemon juiced
6 cloves garlic smashed
1 tsp. chili flakes
1 tsp. smoked paprika
Black pepper (freshly ground)
Sea salt
Herbs de Provence*
1 tbsp. rosemary (fresh or dried)
3 tbsp. Soy sauce
3 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce


Herbs de Provence is a mixture of dried herbs from the Provence region in France. The mixture will typically have fennel seeds, basil, thyme and lavender flowers. It is really aromatic and a perfect accompaniment for lamb, hearty, meaty stews but I put it in just about everything. I found Herbs de Provence whilst on vacation but I have also seen it here at home in the supermarket in the Spice section. However, as I always say, if you don't have an ingredient, don't make it a problem use something else. In this case, the rosemary, fresh or dried will work perfectly alone and is very easy to get at any supermarket. And don't forget shadon beni, which grows wild in so many of our yards.

Directions

If frozen, thaw the lamb shoulder chops fully and pat off the excess water. The marinade will be absorbed easier on a dry surface.

Crush the garlic in your mortar with your pestle or smash with the back of your knife. PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCOMPLISHED KNIFE SKILLS. That being said, make sure you crush the garlic and not mince it. If you're using shadon beni crush it in the mortar with the garlic, you get tonnes more of the natural flavour than if you cut the leaves.








In a small bowl, put all the ingredients in and whisk with a fork.










I prefer to whisk by hand as opposed to using a blender or food processor because I want the spices in tact and not broken up. Fresh Rosemary can be very bitter if crushed in the food processor.

Look at how the spices and seasonings integrate in the marinade, each still keping its unique identity.

Now, simply put your lamb in a secure bag, like a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the meat.









Seal the bag and refrigerate overnight or at least for three hours.

When you're ready to cook your meat you are going to broil and not bake! What's the difference? Well with baking, the heat source comes from below, with broiling, the heat source is generated from above. Pre-heat the oven by putting the Broiler on the HI option...or 350-400 degrees F. Broil on high for approximately 10 minutes on either side according to the thickness of the chops.

If you want the surface of the meat to caramelize like in this picture, move the oven tray closer to the heay source.

Served with oven roasted vegetables and a green salad. Healthy and simply delish!









I am so happy to share these easy, simple and tweakable recipes with you. Look out for more on Bobbilicious!