This recipe is a work-in-progress; inspired by the most amazing lamp chops “ever” at Ilili in Washington DC. As it was our first time dining there, we order the Mixed Grill entree and the lamb chops were head over heals the best thing on the platter. I typically season lamb with rosemary and garlic and this Lebanese preparation was very foreign to me. I used Bard to help me get started, and entered the prompt…
“I am cooking lamb chops tonight and I like how they are cooked and the flavor at ilili restaurant in washington dc. how do they cook them and what herbs do they use?“
and then I also tried…
“I love Lebanese lamb, what spices are used on lamb chops“
Between the two, I came up with a pretty yummy dry rub for seasoning the lamp chops. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 lamb chops per person
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Spice quantities are for making ~6 lamb chops. If you are making more than that, I’d double everything
- Minced garlic – fresh or dried ← I buy the organic garlic mill that they have in all grocery stores
- ½ tsp each of – paprika, minced onion, allspice, cumin
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- note: chatGPT/Bard also listed coriander and sumac in typical Lebanese lamp spices, but I had neither on hand so I skipped them
- Dried or fresh mint (chopped) ← I’ve only used fresh but I am looking for dried to keep on hand
Instructions
- The lamb is better if you let sit with the dry rub for about an hour before cooking
- Combine the paprika, minced onion, allspice, cumin and cinnamon in a small bowl
- Drizzle chops with olive oil and season with the salt, pepper and garlic
- Next sprinkle the prepared seasoning over each chop and then rub the spices in to let sit
- Sprinkle each chop with some fresh mint
- Drizzle some olive oil in a pan large enough for the lamb chops and put on medium/high heat
- Once pan is hot, add the lamb chops, seasoned side down, and reduce heat to medium
- Season the top side similar to the above
- Keep and eye on cooking and flip the chops based on desired doneness. For medium-to-medium rare this is ~3 minutes.
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