Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops With Grapes
A simple recipe for an impressive main course. Delicious pan fried lamb chops seasoned with garlic and rosemary and served with a sweet and delicious grape sauce. The grape sauce is made with a mixture of grapes, white wine, and just a touch of honey along with the pan juices and is another delicious main dish that combines both savoury and sweet flavours.
Lamb chops have to be the easiest dish to make. They grill up easily and when you have to put the grill away they pan fry beautifully too. For great tasting lamb it’s important to know what flavours and what seasoning works best with it to compliment it’s unique flavour. Lamb is excellent when seasoned with garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory, lemon, fennel, mustard and mint, just to name a few of my favorite ways to season it. It also goes well with middle eastern spices that tend to be very warming but also a little more intense. I have included a few other spices I love to use with my lamb in the recipe notes below. They are easy to cook and no reason to be intimidated by them.
Marinating or putting a rub on the chops ahead of time serves two purposes. It’s an excellent way to pre-salt and season the meat, which helps the chops retain moisture while they cook. Marinating with herbs and garlic gives the lamb also gives them a lot of extra flavour. The rub in this recipe includes fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, and garlic. You could easily substitute other herbs or seasonings if you’d like, such as thyme or oregano. Marinating the lamb for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours if you are making ahead is most ideal. But even a quick 15 minutes will add extra flavour if you are low on time. The extra rosemary and garlic are cooked into the sauce but also cook up with the chops in the oil so they will be infused while they cook as well.
I love to serve these with a side salad and either some wild rice, or smashed potatoes. Simple, delicious and a very elegant meal perfect for family dinner or even date night. Feel free to halve the recipe if you are cooking for less and adjust seasoning according to taste. Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 lamb loin chops (about 3 pounds in all about 1¼ inches thick)
- Salt
- Fresh-ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary divided
- 4 cloves garlic divided 3 sliced and 1 minced
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- 2 cups red seedless grapes (from about a 1-pound bunch)
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- 1 tbsp teaspoon honey
Directions
- Combine ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, chili flakes of using, the minced garlic and ½ tbsp of the chopped rosemary in a bowl. Sprinkle and rub onto each lamb chop. Let stand 30 min or if making ahead cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours or overnight.
- In a large stainless-steel or nonstick frying pan, heat the oil and butter over med-high heat. Put the chops in the pan and sprinkle in half the remaining rosemary in the spaces between the chops. Cook the chops for 3-5 minutes (they should be golden). Flip and sprinkle half the remaining sliced garlic in between the chops. Cook the chops until done to your taste, 3-5 minutes longer for medium rare. (I had to do this in two batches as my skillet could only hold 4 at a time)
- Remove the chops once done onto plate and use slotted spoon to remove garlic (discard any charred garlic) and keep in a warm spot.
- Add the grapes and the remaining rosemary and garlic to the pan. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the grapes soften, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the wine to the pan and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in any juices from the lamb, and the honey, simmer another minute, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the lamb topped with the grapes and sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Instead of lamb loin chops you can use lamb shoulder chops, about one inch thick (about two pounds in all). Cook them a little less than the loin chops.
- For extra seasoning on your lamb you can use any spice rub or marinade of your choice - a great one to use would be a nice za’atar spice rub, my All Purpose Moroccan Spice Blend (Ras-El-Hanout)
- For extra seasoning on your lamb you can use any spice rub or marinade of your choice - a great one to use would be a nice za’atar spice rub, my All Purpose Moroccan Spice Blend (Ras-El-Hanout) or even a Berbere spice rub.
Adapted from Food and Wine
