Grilled lamb chops with Moroccan spices basted in ghee

I wanted to grill some lamb chops and so I adapted a recipe from Paula Wolfert, one of the most acclaimed American authors of Mediterranean cooking in the US. These lamb chops are a delight, mildly spicy, well flavored and succulent. Basting them with a touch of ghee adds to the decadence of this dish. I served these lamb chops with Crispy saffron couscous cakes for a very luxurious meal.

The original recipe used grilled meat that was cooked again in a spiced butter sauce, but I adapted the recipe by marinating the meat in the spoices and onions and grilling them. The dish turned out a bit differently in that it was dry rather than the stew like consistency of the original dish, but the flavors were wonderful and the meat was fall off the bone tender.

This is a wonderful cookbook filled with exotic Moroccan dishes. The recipes are relatively easy and always turn out delicious.

For more recipes from this cookbook click here.

Ingredients:

8-10 Frenched lamb chops

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

1/2 tablespoon chopped mixed flat-leaf parsley

1/2 tablespoon cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients from the onion to lemon juice to a small blender and purée to a smooth paste. Add minimal water if needed, just enough to get the marinade to slide down the sides of the blender ot form a paste. Rub the marinade over the lamb chops and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but overnight is highly recommended.

Grill the lamb chops on a barbeque or broil in the oven till charred in spots. Baste with the remaining marinade about half way through cooking. Serve with a side of pasta or couscous.