Truth be told, I am not much of a meat eater. Following my open heart surgery, I moved away from meat, and filled my diet with legumes, tofu, fish, and the like. However, the same does not hold for the King of Hearts, my better half, Hector. So during one miserable "fall-like" night this past July, I thought that I should break out of my norm and find a tasty recipe for him. I settled on lamb chops. I figured that they would be relatively easy to make, I knew he loved lamb, and I would challenge myself as I had never made lamb before. I searched through several recipes and came across one from Whole Foods, which I adapted. Hector loved it, and he knows what he is talking about when it comes to food! The rosemary goat cheese sauce is fantastic, and could accompany so much more than lamb. In fact, I was happy just eating it off the spoon. Now that we are settling into fall, I might have to make this recipe again as it is comforting and filling, but not too heavy. Enjoy!
Ingredients1 teaspoon salt
4 lean lamb chops, each about 1-inch thick (I asked the butcher to cut them for me so they were smaller - similar to lollipops)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 ounces goat cheese
Preheat oven to broil.
Place an oven-proof skillet on the stove on high heat and add the salt. When you flick a little drop of water in the skillet and it sizzles it's ready for the chops. Sear the chops on the first side until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip the chops, sprinkle them with pepper and sear the other side for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle chopped rosemary all over chops.
Transfer skillet to oven and broil for about 3 minutes per side, or longer, if desired. Remove chops from the skillet and keep warm in a covered casserole dish. Return skillet to stovetop and heat over medium high heat. (Be careful not to touch the handle of the skillet since it will still be very hot!)
Add wine to deglaze the skillet, scraping the browned bits off of the bottom. Add broth and 1 sprig rosemary and simmer at a low boil and add the goat cheese. Allow to cook for about 6-10 minutes. Remove and discard rosemary sprig.
Place the chops on a plate and drizzle sauce over the top. Top with remaining rosemary sprig and serve immediately. I served mine with rosemary roaster potatoes.
