In my more recent forays into cooking “real meat” as I call it, meaning I’ve started cooking outside of the chicken comfort zone, I’ve had fun discovering fancy looking dishes that are really quite easy and don’t take too much time.  In wondering out loud what to make for dinner, a friend suggested this recipe that she has made for company for years.

While the recipe calls for a grill, we both used a cast iron skillet and had amazing results anyways.  Some people have said that cast iron skillets are extremely difficult to clean, but this recipe resulted with very minimal clean-up.  The marinade adds wonderful depth of flavor, and you can use the leftover herbs sprinkled into dishes for the rest of the week, including omelettes and chicken for salads.

Ingredients

2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch cayenne pepper
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 lamb chops, about 3/4-inch thick

Directions

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, cayenne, and salt. Pulse until combined. Pour in olive oil and pulse into a paste. Rub the paste on both sides of the lamb chops and let them marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator and allow the chops to come to room temperature; it will take about 20 minutes.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until almost smoking, add the chops and sear for about 2 minutes. Flip the chops over and cook for another 2 minutes for medium-rare and 3 minutes for medium.

Adapted from Food Network Grilled Lamb Chops.