Mint Lamb Loin Chops

I was mad at myself and moderately grumpy last night. I think a large part of it was that my little spring break-ette was coming to an end. I also was irritated with myself that we didn't do a formal Easter dinner. We don't really celebrate Easter in a religious way and the boys didn't want to color eggs....so somehow it just petered out. But then, of course, yesterday I found myself disappointed. I looked back at my blog and saw other years when I'd had an Easter dinner and had friends over.... Ah, oh well. You can't always call things right.

That being said, we DID end up with a great dinner. I splurged on some lamb loin chops from Meijer yesterday and they were beautiful. I marinated them in a simple pesto kind of sauce made of chopped fresh mint, oregano, and thyme. It was mostly mint because that's what our front yard said it should be. A little cumin, coriander and cayenne to round things out. We let it sit for an hour or so and then just seared them in a pan, with a little of the mint pesto that I had set aside, on top. Mashed potatoes and some simple browned carrots...with a teensy bit of crunch left in....and glazed in a dollop of butter, finished up the plate. 

Oh MY but it was good. And I even followed the recipe! I'm not always wild about mint, although I probably prefer it in savory dishes to sweet. The coriander and cumin took the edge off the mint but still allowed some of that herby brightness to hang around.  A perfect Easter dinner despite the lack of flint goblets and sterling silver.....

SAVORY MINT LAMB CHOPS
BON APPÉTIT APRIL 1991

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 (1- to 1 1/2-inch-thick) lamb loin chops (about 5 ounces each), trimmed
Fresh mint sprigs

PREPARATION

Place olive oil, chopped fresh mint, minced garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in small bowl; mix well. Spread herb mixture over both sides of lamb chops. Transfer chops to broiler pan. Let stand 10 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Broil chops until brown and crusty, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Arrange chops on platter, garnish with fresh mint sprigs, and serve.

Note: this is the recipe as written. I seared them in a hot pan for about the same period of time instead of broiling