Ingredients:
- 2 Lamb Chops (at least 1-1.5” thick)
- Fresh Rosemary & Thyme (1 tbsp each, chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- Arugula
- Roasted Red Pepper Goat Cheese (see mini recipe I posted on Instagram yesterday)
- Roasted Red Pepper (julienned)
- 1/4 Yellow Onion (julienned)
- 5 Grape Tomatoes (halved)
- Candied Walnuts (as many as you’d like)
- 2 Fingerling Potatoes (cubed)
- Olive oil (2tbsp for dressing, 1tbsp for coating meat)
- Balsamic vinegar (1 tsp for onions and 1tbsp for dressing)
- 1 tsp honey or agave
- Pinch of brown sugar
- Rendered Duck Fat by Epic (1tbsp & 1/4 cup) *this is for caramelizing the onions and frying the fingerling potato croutons. Other frying oils can be substituted here, but I like to use animal fats.
- Salt & Pepper for seasoning
Directions:
- Begin by adding lamb chops, garlic, rosemary, thyme, 1tbsp olive oil, about 1.5 tsp salt, and 1tsp ground black pepper to mixing bowl and stir to coat. Cover and chill in the refrigerator. (This step should be done beforehand; up to 3-4 hours before cooking.)
- This step can be done at any point beforehand: add 1 tbsp of duck fat (I like to use the rendered duck fat from Epic, it's pretty affordable for an 11oz jar) to a cast iron skillet over medium low heat along with the yellow onion slices to begin caramelizing them. These take about 30 minutes, and require being stirred occasionally. After onions have turned translucent, stir in 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, a pinch of brown sugar, and some salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To make fingerling potato “croutons” (This step can be done at any point beforehand): add 1/4 cup duck fat to small pot with sides high enough for shallow frying and set on stove over medium high heat until lightly smoking. Add cubed fingerling potatoes and fry for 5-6 minutes until you get a nice dark brown potato that we will use as the crunchy “crouton” in the salad. Remove potatoes from oil and place on paper towel, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- To make dressing (This step can be done at any point beforehand): in a small bowl, simply whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, 1tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey or agave, and a pinch of cracked pepper & salt.
- If you haven’t made your roasted red pepper goat cheese yet, you’ll want to jump back to my previous post on Instagram and get to work! I like to reserve about a quarter of the red pepper to julienne and add to the salad. If you want to skip this step, you can always just use plain or pre-seasoned goat cheese.
- NOW, once you have all of the aforementioned prepared, you’ll want to take your lamb chops out of the refrigerator and set your cast iron skillet over high heat (8 on a scale of 1-10). At the same time, pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
- Once your pan is preheated, transfer your lamb chops to the pan with tongs and DON’T TOUCH THEM for 45 seconds to one minute until you achieve a nice brown sear on the first side. Flip chops and immediately transfer cast iron skillet to pre-heated oven on middle rack with your Lodge silicone hot handle holder. Set timer for 2 minutes and then flip once more and finish for an additional 1-2 minutes until desired doneness. Remove lamb from pan, cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Slice lamb chops, cover with foil and set aside.
- Add about a handful of arugula to your salad plate/bowl. Top with sliced grape tomatoes, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper slices, fingerling “croutons”, candied walnuts, roasted red pepper goat cheese crumbles, balsamic vinaigrette dressing, cracked black pepper and salt (to taste), and slices of the lamb chops. Enjoy!