Rosemary Roast Chops and Potatoes Recipe

Happy Easter to all my readers.


Easter Sunday is the culmination of the religious festival of Easter (Easter Monday was always a secular holiday, originally allowing markets and spring fairs to be held).

Easter Sunday was traditionally important as the time for Easter services. It is also the day for traditional Easter hunts for eggs and biscuits. Easter Sunday is the day for the main Easter meal.

The traditional meat for the Easter Sunday lunch or dinner is roast lamb. Today I am presenting two different lamb recipes, with a selection of accompaniments.

This first recipe is the simplest and uses a more economical cut of lamb, the lamb chop.

Rosemary Roast Chops and Potatoes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
8 lamb chops
1kg (2 1/4 lbs) potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into small chunks
4 fresh sprigs of rosemary
4 garlic cloves (peeled but left whole)
250g cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:

Heat half the oil in the base of a flame-proof roasting tin or cocotte (shallow oven-proof casserole). Add the lamb and fry for about 2 minutes per side, or until nicely browned. Remove the meat with tongs and set aside on a plate to keep warm.

Add the remaining oil to the pan then throw in the potatoes and fry for about 5 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Add the rosemary and garlic then nestle the lamb in along with the potatoes.

Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200ºC (400ºF, Gas Mark 7) and roast for 20 minutes. Arrange the cherry tomatoes on top then drizzle over the balsamic vinegar.

Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until the cherry tomatoes are just beginning to split. Remove from the oven and serve straight from the cooking dish.

This could be served accompanied by one of the two recipes I presented yesterday: Lemony Potato, Broccoli and Goat's Cheese Salad or Lentil and Rice Casserole.

Serve with the Fennel with Tomatoes and White Wine recipe which appears later today.

For more classic lamb-based recipes, see the Celtnet Lamb recipes and information pages.