Grilled lamb chops with couscous

These grilled lamb chops look impressive but take minimal effort. They’re dusted with a warm Middle Eastern spice mix called Baharat and I love serving them over this couscous with dried cherries, almonds and pomegranate molasses. You can buy the spice mix or make your own with pepper, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves (recipe below.) If you don’t have pomegranate molasses, you can leave it out (but it does add a special touch) or make your own by reducing store bought pomegranate juice in a saucepan until it’s a syrupy consistency. If you don’t have a grill, they absolutely work on the stove top!

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

For the couscous: 

I box plain couscous⁣ (regular or Israeli/pearl)

the juice of 1 lemon⁣

1 Tbs pomegranate molasses ⁣

1/4 cup olive oil ⁣

1 tsp salt⁣

1/3 cup dry cherries (or apricots), chopped⁣

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted⁣

1/4 cup chopped scallions⁣

1/4 cup parsley, chopped⁣

1/2 tsp cinnamon ⁣

⁣

Cook couscous according to package directions. While couscous cooks, combine lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt, cherries, almonds, scallions, parsley, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Once water is absorbed and couscous is cooked, fluff it gently with a fork, add to mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Season with more salt or lemon if needed. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

Lamb chops:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣

12 single lamb chops ⁣

1 Tbs baharat spice mix

2-3 tsp kosher salt

Pomegranate molasses and parsley to garnish⁣

⁣

Rub lamb chops with spice mix. Let marinate at least 30 minutes (to overnight), then rub lightly with olive oil (too much and you will have big flare-ups on your grill) 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.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

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. 

I serve this with tomato and cucumber salad and sautéed or grilled zucchini.⁣

⁣

Baharat Spice Mix

Baharat is Arabic for “spice mix” so there is no one recipe. You can use this as a guide or look up different recipes online. You can toast and grind your own spices to take it next level, or use ground spices. 

1 Tbs ground black pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg 
1 tsp paprika 
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground allspice