Lamb Chops with Pistachio Tapenade

These little chops are so easy and tasty – I’ve fallen in love with them.  I don’t cook lamb very often, so I wanted to find an amazing recipe, and after much searching I found it at Smitten Kitchen.  Olives and nuts, well right there you’ve got an amazing combination that works so well with the lamb.

If you want to try out this recipe on someone, feel free to invite me over!

I served them with tiny baked potatoes roasted with some duck fat, rosemary and salt, along with a green salad with vinaigrette, strawberries and toasted slivered almonds.

What you need:

1 rack of lamb or 6-8 chops

1/3 cup unsalted pistachios, toasted

1/3 cup pitted green olives

1 & 1/2 tablespoons capers

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh oregano

1 & 1/2 tablespoons parsley

olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Cut the rack of lamb into chops, the salt and pepper each one.  Let these sit while you prepare the tapenade.

2.  To make the tapenade, place the pistachios, capers, garlic, oregano, parsley and lemon zest in a food processor.  Add a little olive oil at a time to make it into a thick paste.

3.  Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Heat a frying pan to medium-high, then add some olive oil.  Cook the lamb chops for 2 minutes per side, or until they are browned.  Remove the chops to a baking pan and smear some of the tapenade on each.  Place the chops in the oven and cook for 4-5 minutes, which will give you lovely rare chops.

4.  Remove the chops from the oven and let them rest 5 minutes before serving.  Savour!