Red Wine Balsamic Marinaded Lamb Chops served with creamy Parmesan Polenta, Tomato Sauce and herby Peas
Red Wine Balsamic Marinaded Lamb Chops are the only way I prepare lamb chops. This marinade includes red wine, balsamic vinegar, honey and wholegrain mustard. Not only does it add amazing flavour to the meat, but it makes it super succulent.
These lamb chops are the star of the dish, and you can serve them with whatever side you wish. I almost always serve lamb chops with polenta. I just love the flavour and texture combination. This is a soft and creamy polenta made with butter, herbs, stock, milk and oodles of parmesan. I’ve topped it with a simple tomato sauce and some herby peas.
Besides marinading the meat, which should sit for at least 2 hours, although overnight is always best. This dish only takes around 30 minutes to cook. And although there are quite a few elements, it is really super simple but packed with flavour.
If your preference is not to include alcohol, just double up on the balsamic vinegar. The flavour is just as amazing.
Red Wine Balsamic Marinaded Lamb Chops
Red Wine Balsamic Marinaded Lamb Chops served with creamy Parmesan Polenta, Tomato Sauce and herby Peas.
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Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 Tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- ½ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
- ½ Cup Red Wine
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (+1 Tbsp for cooking)
- 4 Lamb Chops (approx. 600g)
- Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Dried mixed herbs
Peas
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 100 grams Fresh or frozen peas
- 1 Clove of garlic Crushed
- Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Dried mixed herbs
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 Clove of garlic Crushed
- 1 Can of chopped tomatoes (400g)
- Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Dried mixed herbs
- ¾ tsp Sugar Optional
Polenta
- 20 grams Butter
- 2 Sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 500 ml Boiling water
- 100 ml Milk
- ½ Cup Polenta
- 1 tsp Powdered Vegetable Stock
- 1 tsp Salt
- Pepper to taste Optional
- ¼ Cup Finely grated Parmesan
Instructions
Marinade
- To prepare the marinade, add the mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar and red wine to a bowl or jug and mix through
- Drizzle the olive oil in a baking dish. Add the lamb chops, season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs, then flip over and repeat. Pour the marinade over the meat, cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Place in the fridge for 2 to 6 hours, or preferably overnight. Try to flip the meat a couple of times during the marinading process to ensure both sides get even marinading
Cooking
- Tip: The polenta takes roughly 20 minutes to cook, during this time you can cook and rest the lamb. I like to cook the peas before and set them aside, then let the tomato sauce bubble away gently while I cook the polenta and lamb. I have included the instructions below for each component separately even though you will cook multiple elements at the same time
Peas
- Place the olive oil, peas and crushed garlic into a pan, season with salt pepper and herbs, stir through and bring to medium heat. Place a lid on to help them steam. Cook for around 5 minutes
Tomato Sauce
- Add the olive oil and garlic to a small saucepan and bring to medium heat. Just until the garlic softens a little. Do not brown or burn. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, then season with salt, pepper and herbs (I like to add a little sugar to tomato based sauces to balance the acidity)
- Cook to sauce gently around 10 minutes or on low heat for the same time as the lamb and polenta. Once cooked serve as is or blitz smooth with a hand-held immersion blender
Lamb Chops
- For the lamb chops, place a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and bring to medium high heat. Place the lamb chops in the pan. Unless very thick, they only need 2 – 4 minutes per side and one minute on the fat if you want to crisp it up (I use a splatter guard over my pan to avoid any splatter as you do not want to disturb the meat while cooking)
- Remove from the pan and let it rest for at least 5 minutes
- Optional: This dish does have a tomato sauce, however as an optional sauce, you can remove any additional oil/fat from the pan, leaving any crusty bits, then pour the marinade into the pan and reduce over medium heat for around 5 minutes. Strain to remove any bits and use as a sauce for the meat
Polenta
- Note: If using instant polenta, please follow the package instructions as the cooking time will be much less
- In a saucepan, add the butter and herbs and bring to medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the water and milk to the pot and stir in the polenta, stock and salt
- Let boil, stirring frequently, until polenta thickens enough that it starts to spit. Lower heat immediately to prevent spitting and continue to cook, stirring frequently with a spoon or silicone spatula and scraping bottom to prevent scorching, until polenta becomes thick and pulls away from side of saucepan, around 20 minutes
- Finally taste to check seasoning and stir through the grated parmesan
- Note: Polenta needs to be cooked then be served immediately to prevent it from becoming stodgy
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