Australian lamb is an ever-popular choice for a simple family dinner, barbecue or even a special occasion.
There are endless ways to serve this tasty meat, so don’t think that you’ve tried them all. There are still plenty more recipes to try!
The key ingredient in our lamb recipe, the chipotle in adobo sauce, gives this dish a distinctly Mexican flavour.
If you’ve never come across this ingredient before, then you can enjoy discovering the extra, spicy kick and depth of flavour it adds to your cooking.
Chipotle refers to dried and smoked jalapeño peppers, while the adobo sauce is a fiery tomato sauce with key ingredients of paprika, garlic, onions, bay leaves, oregano, salt and pepper.
Together, the chipotle and adobo sauce lends the perfect balance of spiciness and flavour to your lamb chops. And you’ll find that the fieriness is offset by the sweetness of the honey and freshness of the orange zest – an irresistible combination!
Elevate this dish with free-range lamb
Lamb is a great meat choice too. It cooks easily to give you a tender and delicious meat that’s full of protein and offers a dose of vitamins and minerals, notably B vitamins, selenium and zinc.
Elevate this dish to the next level by choosing free-range lamb from Victoria. That’s exactly what you’ll get at Church Street Butcher – meat from animals reared locally and free of antibiotics and added hormones.
We ensure that all our meat – lamb included – is bred according to stringent animal welfare standards too, enabling you to make responsible shopping choices.
Cooking tips to make this dish extra tasty
You can use either lamb loin chops or forequarter chops in this recipe. To make it extra healthy, ask your free-range butcher to trim any excess fat.
Once you’ve cooked your lamb, don’t skip the resting stage. This locks in the juices and ensures that the meat is tender.
Don’t be afraid to experiment a little with the ingredient list or use up what you’ve already got at home. For example, this recipe works just as well with long grain or brown rice, and you can use kidney, butter or cannellini beans instead of black beans.
You can find chipotle in adobo sauce in specialty or ethnic stores. It’s worth shopping around for, as it really does add a unique Mexican touch to this dish.
Ingredients
- 8 Lamb loin chops (fat trimmed)
- 2 tablespoon Chipotle in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Red onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 clove Garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 small Red capsicum (finely diced)
- 1 small Yellow capsicum (finely diced)
- 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 450 gram Family size microwave basmati rice (rice separated)
- 1 ½ cup Beef stock (375ml)
- 400 gram Black beans can (rinsed, drained)
- ½ bunch English spinach (trimmed, finely shredded)
To serve
Instructions
- Place lamb chops, chipotle sauce and honey in a large snap lock bag. Season and rub well to coat. Set aside for 10 minutes to marinate.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, capsicum and Cajun seasoning, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add rice and stock, stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until stock absorbs and rice is tender, adding a little extra water or stock, if required. Remove from heat, stir through beans and spinach, cover and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Lightly spray a large char-grill pan or barbecue with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Cook lamb for 3-4 minutes each side, or until cooked to your liking. Rest on a plate loosely covered in foil for 5 minutes.
- Serve lamb with rice and bean mixture, salad leaves, chilli, orange zest and parsley.
Notes
- Lamb forequarter chops or cutlets would also be delicious in this recipe.
- Substitute your choice of rice – brown, long grain or black rice would also work well; use your choice of beans in the recipe – try red kidney, cannellini, butter or 4 bean mix.
- Chipotle in adobo sauce is available at green grocers, delis and specialty stores. If unavailable substitute half the amount (1 tablespoon) of chipotle sauce.
- Always rest the lamb to ensure the meat is tender and juices locked in – as a rule of thumb rest lamb chops for 5 minutes.
- You can use regular uncooked rice of your choice in the recipe – it will need to cook for an extra 10-15 minutes or until tender and you will likely need to add some extra stock to the pan – around 1 cup.
Method
1. Put the lamb chops, honey and chipotle sauce in a snap-lock bag. Season, close the bag and shake well to coat the lamb. Put the bag aside for 10 minutes for the lamb to marinate.
2. While you’re waiting, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the onion and cook for around 3 minutes, then add the capsicums, garlic and Cajun seasoning, mix well and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the rice and stock, stir well and bring the contents of the pan to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes or until the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Add extra stock or water if necessary. Remove from the heat, stir the spinach and beans through, then cover and set aside for 5 minutes.
4. Spray a grill pan or barbecue with oil and heat to medium-high. Cook the lamb for 3-4 minutes on each side or as desired. Remove the lamb from the heat and allow it to rest on a plate loosely covered in kitchen foil for 5 minutes.
5. Serve the lamb, rice and beans mixture with the salad leaves, orange zest, parsley and chilli.
Source lamb from your local free-range butcher in Melbourne
You don’t have to look far to find fresh, tasty free-range lamb close to home. Here at Church Street Butcher, we consider ourselves your local butcher with good, old-fashioned service to match!
All of our meat is fresh, free-range and reared ethically and sustainably, so you can count on enjoying every mouthful.
If you don’t have time to come and see us at our Church Street store, then use our online service to order your lamb and other meat. With free home delivery for orders over $80 to Brighton and surrounding suburbs, you really can’t go wrong.
So stock up on the freshest, tastiest meat today and get experimenting in the kitchen!
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