Warm Spiced Lamb Chops with Minty Pesto and Pomegranate

Cozy holiday dinner

I struggle to find good holiday recipes. I feel like Thanksgiving food is so clearly defined by flavor profiles: cinnamon, turkey, and pies. With Christmas, all that comes to mind for me is ham and a kind of cranberry, but even then, we steer into Thanksgiving territory. These lamb chops are what I think a good Christmas dinner should taste like: warm and fragrant spices, a rich juicy meat, a hint of jammyness from the pomegranate, all on a creamy base so you can smear everything together into a delicious dip. This recipe takes inspiration from Moroccan spice blends, which have a warming, fragrant nature and are so so good.

Many restaurants and people like to do something called “frenching” their lamb chops. This technique essentially removes all the fat and skin from the bone so you get lamb lollipops. It makes them look pretty, but, in my opinion, it is unnecessary if you want to skip this step.

I think the best way to cook these is on the grill. If you want to do it in a cast iron pan inside, you can do that just be careful. Because of all the seasoning, things will get pretty smokey, and setting off the fire alarm truly ruins my cooking experience.

This recipe is delicious and relatively easy, the hardest part of this is cooking the chops but I trust you guys! It’s actually pretty healthy and high protein too which I love for a holiday recipe. Let me know any questions in the comments!

Warm Spiced Lamb Chops With Minty Pesto And Pomegranate

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Ingredients

For the Lamb Chops

• 8 lamb chops

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1 tbs salt

• 1 tbs cinnamon

• 1 tbs ginger

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp cloves

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

• 1/2 a cup of avocado oil

• juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the pesto

• 1 bunch of basil

• 8 leaves of mint

• 2 cloves of garlic crushed

• 1/4 bunch parsley

• 2 tsp sea salt

• 1/3 cup pine nuts

• juice of the other half of the lemon

• 3/4 cup avocado oil (I use avocado instead of olive oil since it has a higher smoke point)

For the other stuff

• 1 cup of greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Instructions

For the Lamb Chops

1. For the lamb chops make the seasoning blend by mixing the minced garlic, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cumin, black pepper, avocado oil, and lemon juice into a runny paste.

2. This step is optional but makes the chops aesthetic. To swiss the chops use a knife to cut around the bone in a full circle where the meat part of the chop ends. Use a paper towel to firmly grip the excess meat and fat on the lower part of the bone and tear it off. Trying to scrape it off with a knife will make a mess and this should cleanly separate the bottom of the chop from the bone leaving you a nice lamb lollipop.

3. Place the swissed chop on a sheet try and use a brush to cover them in the seasoning mix. Let the chops sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours so the marinade can soak in.

4. The best way to cook them is outside on a grill so they don’t set off your smoke alarm but you can do this step inside in a cast iron pan too. Heat your grill to hot. Add your chops and let them cook till they’re seared and brown on one side without touching them, about 3 minutes. Flip them, don’t touch them, and let them cook for another 2-3.

5. Remove them from the grill and place them on a wire sheet rack for 5-10 minutes to let the meat rest.

For the pesto

1. Add the basil, mint, garlic, parsley, and sea salt to a food processor and pulse till finely minced and almost pulpy. Add in the pine nuts, olive oil, and lemon juice and pulse until fully combined. Doing it in this order instead of all at once makes it less creamy since the nuts aren’t fully blended. Adding it all at once is also fine it’s just visual preference.

To Plate

1. Smear 1/4 cup of yogurt on each plate, drizzle with some pesto, place two lamb chops on top, and garnish with pomegranate seeds.

2. Enjoy!

Macros per serving below are based on this recipe, making four servings with 2 lamb chops each