I went back to the gym yesterday after a 6 week hiatus and my legs are soooo sore. Like, I thought they were going to collapse under me when I was walking to my car after the workout. Squats are the devil. But, no pain, no gain as they say. Today I’ll go back again. And tomorrow. And hopefully after I’ve gotten every muscle good and sore and angry, they’ll be kinder to me in the weeks to come. I like a little soreness, to let me know I had a good workout, but not being able to walk or raise my arms to wash my hair in the shower is a bit extreme. It’s a good thing I have a personal trainer as a boyfriend, to tell me which exercises to do, and then how to cope with aches and pains. He likes to help and teach me new things. He’s like a proud papa when I go workout on my own.
And, in the way that he likes to teach me new things in the exercise world, I love to introduce new food to him. Things he’s never had before (some he’s never even heard of.) Awhile back I asked if he wanted to try lamb chops. He said he’d never had them, but sure! I have a couple of recipes on the blog for ones I’ve made in the past, but when I saw this recipe I decided we’d try it out!
The original recipe called for roasted pistachios, which I was sure I had a bag of in the pantry. But, when I went to make them, no pistachios were to be found. I panicked a little at first, because I’d already started the sauce and the grocery store isn’t just around the corner, so leaving was not really an option. I dug through the pantry to see what I had that could take the place of pistachios. I found pumpkin seeds. Hey, they’re green, crunchy, and roasted so why not?!?
Fortunately for me, it turned out really well. The crust was crunchy, the cherry port sauce was delicious, and J has now had a taste of lamb. And he liked it! I felt a little silly as I got down to the last of the meat on my chop because it was so good, I couldn’t resist picking up the bone and trying to gnaw every last morsel off of it. That’s totally acceptable, right?
Pumpkin Seed, Garlic, & Rosemary Crusted Lamb Chops with Cherry Port Sauce
Adapted from In Sock Monkey Slippers
Ingredients
For the cherry port sauce
- 1 cup Tawny Port
- 1 cup pitted cherries fresh or frozen, sliced in half
- 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For the lamb chops
- 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 6 lamb chops
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
- In a sauce pot over high heat, combine the Port, cherries, vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced by 3/4 and is thick enough to coat a spoon. Cover and set aside until needed.
- Preheat oven to 425°F, line a baking sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the pumpkin seeds, garlic, and rosemary until finely chopped. Pour the mixture onto a plate or into a shallow dish.
- Season both sides of lamb chops with salt and pepper then place into the pumpkin seed mixture. Press down to make sure the mixture sticks, then flip it over and do the same for the other side and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chops.
- Place the chops in the oven and cook for 6 minutes, the turn them over and cook for an additional 6 minutes, for medium rare. Add additional time if you prefer your chops more well-done. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes.
- If needed, reheat the sauce over low heat, add a spoonful of port if the sauce has become too thick while resting.
- Serve the chops with sauce served over the top and additional on the side if you like.
Gnawing the last of the lamb meat off the bone is more than acceptable, it's EXPECTED.
Lamb chops are fabulous. So is this recipe!