Friday, April 30, 2010

Thyme Lavender Lamb Loin Chops

When bread and cheese is verboten as a weeknight dinner because I'm trying to loose weight it usually comes down to meat and salad. Stopping by Karin's farm on the way and desperate for a dinner meat I fished the thinnest piece of meat out of her freezer that I could find. And man, was I in for a treat. It was lamb loin chops. 4 of them, for a scant half pound, and all of them for me. I put them up under the windshield as I was driving home so the sun had defrosted them when I got here.

I put together a little rub with a lot of thyme, some lavender salt (that I found at Whole Foods a year ago) and some pepper, rub it into the chops, and put them away at room temp.



Heat your pan. Really hot. Then add oil that can take the heat. Canola, Grapeseed, no olive oil. Test the temperature with the a little corner of a chop. If it start sizzling, really vigorously, everything is hot enough. Put in the chops - I used four just for myself, but if hubby had been around I would have stretched them to last for both of us. Don't touch the chops until they are browned enough to come loose by themselves. Then turn them, leave them in for a little longer - they are so small that they are done really fast, but they are so tender you can't overdo them unless you leave them in for a really long time.



Today I have one left-over little gem salad, which got dressed with a little lemon juice, some of my favorite olive oil, some pepper, some salt. And here is the result - all for me alone!




Recipe:
Thyme Lavender Lamb Chops

2-4 lamb loin chops per person
thyme - as much as you dare
lavender salt - or lavender and salt, about 1/4 teaspoon
pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of canola or grapeseed oil

Make rub from tyme, lavender (,) salt, pepper, rub into chops, let them rest for 2 hours or more. 
Heat pan to high heat, add oil. (I really dislike nonstick for this, it doesn't get hot enough, and you boil the meat instead of frying it.) Test temperature with a corner of a chop - if it sizzles your pan is ready. Put the chops in, but don't crowd the pan. Turn when the chops loosen off the surface without any pulling or scraping. Leave on the other side shortly for medium rare, or till a bit browned for medium well.

Serve with a simple salad, a glass of Dolcetto or other nice red, and enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. Yummy looking lamb chops. I'm sure you know that there are high heat canola or safflower oil - they have a higher smoke point than the regular version.
    Have you use regular cast iron pan? I think they are nice for cooking meat.

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  2. Oh forgot to say, congrats on the new blog look! :) I love the picture with all the eggs. Very cute.

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  3. Thanks Jenn! I thought it was time for my own look.... And the eggs are just too cute to pass up.

    Yep, but since I use so little canola oil I just keep one little bottle on hand, it works good enough I find. I don't want to burn down my place, anyways! But yes, the higher temp versions are available.

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  4. These look wonderfull - I can inhale the thyme-lavender combination-
    ahhhh. joan

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  5. Gotta try them! They are awesome! Which reminds me, I should pull something out of the freezer so it can marinate for the weekend...

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