Charmoula Spiced Mutton Chops
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1kg rack of mutton
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 12 to 18 small cilantro leaves
Preparation
Make charmoula: Whisk together olive oil, cilantro, lemon juice, 1 tbsp. cumin, paprika, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper. Set aside. (See headnote.)
In another small bowl, mix 1 tsp. ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. salt, and ground cloves. Cut rack of lamb into individual chops and coat with spice mixture. Cover and chill overnight
Heat oven to 400°. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Swirl vegetable oil into pan. Add 6 lamb chops and cook until they begin to release fat and are browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and bake until lamb is medium-rare (145° on an instant-read thermometer), 3 to 5 minutes
Spoon about 1 tbsp. charmoula onto each plate. Arrange lamb chops on sauce and top with 2 or 3 cilantro leaves
Frenched lamb racks have some or all of the meat scraped from the ends of the bones so they look more elegant