Minted Lamb Chops Recipe - Feed Your Sole

Name: Minted Lamb Chops
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 3 lamb chops/cutlets (300g / 10oz including bone); 8-10 large mint leaves; 1 large shallot, roughly chopped; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

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These minted lamb chops are simple, quick and impressive. It transforms humble lamb chops into a flavoursome and delicious dinner that is suitable for impressing guests or even a quick mid-night meal since it takes only minutes to pull together.

What are lamb chops?

Lamb chops, or cutlets as they are often referred to, are the ribs of the lamb. You can buy them before they have been cut apart which is then a rack of lamb.

Chops are the most expensive and tender cut of lamb, and absolutely beautiful when fried or grilled, either on their own, or with seasonings and flavours.

How long should you cook them?

Lamb cutlets are most tender when they are cooked to medium-rare. They aren’t suitable for slow or long cooking. To cook to medium rare on a grill or frying pan takes around 7-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. If you want a well-done piece then cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.

How do you know when they are done?

There are 3 ways to determine how cooked the lamb is:

Firstly, you can learn to press the meat and gauge how ‘done’ it is. It takes a bit of practice but once you’ve nailed it then it’s a great skill to have. To learn this, place the pad of your index finger gently against the pad of your thumb. Feel the fleshy piece on the inside of your hand just underneath your thumb, This is what ‘rare’ should feel like when you press the meat in it’s thickest part.

Press the different fingers against your thumb to see how the tension changes through medium-rare (middle finger), medium (ring finger) and well done (your little finger).

Secondly, you can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chop. For medium-rare you want the chop to be 65C/ 150F. For well done you want to bring it up to 75C / 167F. Medium well will be in the middle of the two.

Finally, you can carefully cut into one cutlet and take a peek inside. But obviously, the chop won’t look as impressive when you serve it.

Ingredients

This recipe needs only 5 ingredients, plus salt and pepper:

Lamb chops (cutlets) – around 3 per person is a good amount
Fresh mint leaves – you could use dried mint (use around half the amount), but the flavour is really best with fresh mint
Garlic cloves – peeled
Shallots – peeled
Olive oil

How to make them

Roughly chop the shallots and garlic and add to a food processor or blender along with the olive oil and fresh mint and some salt and pepper. Blitz until you have a rough paste that you can easily spread.

Heat a frying pan or grill pan over medium high heat and add a small splash of oil (you won’t need much because of the oil in the mint mixture). Spoon half of the mint puree over the pieces of lamb and spread it evenly over one side of each piece. Add the pieces to the pan, mint covered side down. Spoon the remaining mint mixture onto the back of each piece and spread it out.

Cook the lamb for 3 minutes before flipping it over. Cook the second half for 4 minutes before serving.

Looking for more great lamb recipes? Check out these honey & orange lamb cutlets or this lamb steak with feta and mint gnocchi. I love to serve lamb chops with these minted peas too!

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