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Zesty Date Lamp Chops
This recipe is everything you’d expect at a five star restaurant, with a sweet twist. The bread and butter here is all in the method. Searing the chops fat side down and then the meat sides allows the fat to render out, which you can then remove from the pan. Once you add the sweet, spicy, and acidic elements to the pan, a delicious sauce starts bubbling and thickening into something beautiful, which you can spoon over the pork chops later.
The Secret Sauce
Here, the date syrup gives a sweet element, balanced out by the acid from the freshly squeezed orange juice. The sweet chili sauce pulls it all together, and the red pepper flakes give that extra element of heat needed to tone down the sweet orange flavor. You can serve this dish with a side of couscous and charred green beans.
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Ingredients:
1 lb lamb chops
One half cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon date syrup
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
5 sliced pitted dates
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 tablespoons butter
Method:
- Remove the lamb chops from the fridge, pat dry and season with sea salt. Let rest for 20 minutes on the counter.
- Meanwhile, finely chop 4 garlic cloves and cut the pitted dates into chunks. Prepare the homemade orange juice, mix in the sweet chili sauce, date syrup, and set aside.
- Place the lamb chops fat side down into a skillet for 2 minutes over medium-high heat using tongs. After the fat has rendered out, sear on each meat side for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Turn off the heat, remove the lamb chops from the pan and set aside on a plate. Remove some of the excess fat from the pan.
- Turn the heat on again to medium-high and add butter and red chili flakes, letting them become fragrant and slightly toasted in the pan for about 30 seconds.
- Add the garlic, chopped dates, freshly squeezed orange juice, and date syrup. Simmer over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until it begins to thicken and become syrupy in texture. Add one more tablespoon of butter.
- Reintroduce the meat to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes more on low heat, basting the lamb chops with the sauce.
- Turn off heat, let rest for 30 seconds.
- Serve immediately with the sauce, fresh parsley and some fresh orange slices.
About the author: Meghan Lavin is a food blogger, recipe curator, and graduate student at Boston College. Check out Meghan Lavin's Blog and Instagram to see more food-related content.
Meghan Lavin
