Jummy had a little Lamb -chop (Oven cooked)
Updated: Feb 9, 2021
Allow me to say that most of us are usually a bit intimidated to cook lamb and would normally only eat lamb in a Turkish restaurant, but what if I told you it is not as scary as it seems. I believe lamb chops are a basic and simple way to start with getting familiar with lamb. All you need is a simple marinade- in this dish, I used a simple herb mix and alakazoom alakazam bish bosh you’ve got top-notch I’ll even push as far as saying Michelin star quality lamb. I decided to pair this with some spicy rice & some salad as we all know health is wealth - did I eat the salad, though that is another question.
When I took a few bites, I said to myself in Pidgin English, "omo you too sabi cook." In English, that means, damn it, you sure do know how to cook! Let me tell you guys this food was so bombastically yummy and tantalising. The lamb was so tender and succulent and the rice was delicious, all the flavours permeating. Am I making you hungry? You wish you could eat this delicious meal as well, don't worry, I've got you covered, just grab your speakers and go to the kitchen. Speaker's Jummy? Yes! We are here for a good time and what’s cooking without grooving?. So put on your favourite song or album (for me right now it’s Wande Coal - Again), wash those hands and let's get crackalacking !!!
Ingredients (9 lamb chops)
Before marinating the lamb chops, you should wash it. Rinse thoroughly with water and soak in cold water, lime juice and salt or in milk for approx. 20 minutes and rinse again. Now our lamb chops are ready for seasoning.
For the marinade you will need:
3 tablespoons, olive oil
2 tablespoon dried parsley, can be substituted for rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoon crushed chillies
1 small onion, red or white
2 teaspoons, ginger puree
3 teaspoons, smoke garlic
2 Bouillon cubes of your choice of flavour, I used 1 chicken and 1 beef
1 tablespoon all-purpose seasoning
1 scotch bonnet, chopped, can be substituted with red chilli pepper
Ingredients for rice:
1 - 1 and half cup of long grain basmati rice
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic puree
1 teaspoon ginger puree
1 teaspoon of chives
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons, all-purpose seasoning
1 spring onion, chopped
2 teaspoons, chilli powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 beef bouillon cubes
Salad of your choosing
Directions - Lamb and Rice
Place lamb chops in a flat oven-safe dish and marinade by putting all the ingredients listed in the marinade section into the lamb chops. Make sure you give it a thorough massage with your hands or spoon. Cover the dish with cling film and place inside the fridge for about 3-4 hours or 45 minutes if you're in a hurry. For optimal quality, This should preferably be done the night before you intend to cook.
Parboil the rice by putting a medium pot filled with water to high heat. When the water starts boiling, add in your desired quantity of rice and allow this to cook for about 8-10minutes, then drain, rinse and set aside.
Set the oven to 200C and allow heating up for 5-10 minutes, after this place your lamb chops in the oven. You can use a grilling rack if you have one or a flat ovenproof dish will do as well. Put your lamb chops in the oven for about 10-20minutes, be sure to check continuously. Depending on how you prefer your lamb cooked, you might take it out sooner or later. - a tip to avoid dry lamb and seal in the moisture is too continuously baste your lamb chops with the marinade sauce as it is cooking.
Next, place a saute pan on medium heat and put in roughly 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Then put in your chopped onion, spring onion, ginger and garlic puree, mix and allow cooking for 2 minutes, stirring periodically to avoid burning. Add in chopped tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients. Stir and allow cooking for 8 minutes on low heat.
Add parboiled rice to the tomato sauce and stir. Once the sauce and rice are thoroughly mixed, add 1 cup of water or as much as you believe is needed for the quantity of rice you have cooked. Keep in mind the rice has been pre-cooked so that the cooking time is shorter. Cover and allow cooking until dry.
Once the rice is dry, turn off the heat. The lamb chops should be fully cooked through. Take them out the oven if you haven't already, you can baste one more time or leave as it is.
Serve and enjoy !
Quick preparation video: