Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted from Anne Burrell | Shot by Riley Ziesig
I always thought "lamb pops" were cute but a hassle for such little meat. I remember stumbling upon the recipe for these lamb chops with pistachio tapanade. I thought, "Wow, that must have been a huge lamb!" No, that wasn't the case. It was a simple butchering trick that gives your lamb chops a little more dino-DNA.
The trick is to eliminate two bones from an 8 rib rack and voila! Huge honkin' lamb chunks that rival your Thanksgiving drumstick.
The lamb is then salted to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before searing on high for two minutes. The recipe called for olive oil, but I like to brush butter on after a sear...because why not? That way, you don't let the milk fat burn during the high heat period.
Each chop gets a generous schmear of pistachio tapenade. It is so bright green on account of the Castelvetrano olives I picked up from Fairway. They are plump and firm if you get them with pits (don't eat the pits!). If you are on a low-salt diet or are new to olives, don't use so much of this tapenade. Try some on bread before you put it on the lamb.
The chops are finished in a 425F degree over for 4 to 5 minutes depending how done you like your meat.
I couldn't wait for Riley to stop taking photos and kept asking, "Can I eat it yet?"
Try it! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram if you do.