One of my favorite dinners: Grilled lamb chops over Israeli Couscous with dried cherries, almonds and pomegranate molasses. I love the flavors in this middle eastern/Indian spiced plate - use regular or Israeli (pearled) couscous and add whatever nuts, dried fruit or herbs you like. If you’ve never used pomegranate molasses (it’s amazing!) you can find it in middle eastern or Jewish markets and many regular grocery stores now.
Ingredients:
- 2 racks of lamb, cut into single chops
- 2 tablespoons spice rub (vindaloo, baharat, tandori, etc.)
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup dried cherries (apricots are a good substitute)
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pomegranate molasses
Couscous:
- Cook couscous according to package directions (toss any flavor pouches!)
- While couscous cooks, squeeze the juice of the lemon in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp salt, cherries, almonds, scallions, parsley, and cinnamon. Stir until combined.
- Fluff cooked couscous with a fork, add to mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt or lemon if needed. Cover and set aside.
Lamb chops:
- Rub lamb chops with your spice rub. I used a baharat spice mix with pepper, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves this time but you can use anything. Sometimes I use Indian spice rubs like tandoori or vindaloo. Let marinate 30 minutes to over night and then rub lightly with olive oil and salt liberally.
- Grill chops about 1.5 - 2 minutes per side for medium rare. If you don’t have a grill, cook them in a hot skillet with olive oil, just a couple minutes per side. Remove from heat as they finish and place on a platter.
- To serve, place a mound of couscous on each plate and lay 3 lamb chops on top. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses, olive oil and chopped parsley. You can also serve this family style, lay the chops as they come off the grill on a platter of couscous - don’t forget the pomegranate molasses!
Comments