In this recipe I created for Fine Cooking magazine’s Make It Tonight column—recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less—a simple lemon-garlic sauce does double duty. It’s brushed on the lamb and stirred into the couscous.
You can use lamb loin chops instead of rib chops, but they might need slightly more time under the broiler.
Serves 4
- Twelve 3/4-inch-thick lamb rib chops (about 3 pounds)
- 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 cup couscous
- 1/2 cup peas, thawed if frozen
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Preheat the broiler on high and arrange a rack about 4 inches from the heating element. Arrange the lamb in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Finely grate the zest from both lemons and then squeeze them to yield 1/4 cup juice. In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice, olive oil, and garlic. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the mixture. Brush one side of the lamb chops with half of the remaining lemon mixture and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Broil for 4 minutes, then flip the lamb, brush the other side with the remaining half of the lemon mixture, and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of pepper. Broil for 3 minutes more for medium rare or 4 minutes for medium. Let the chops rest, loosely covered with foil, for 5 minutes.
While the lamb cooks, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 1 cup of water and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt to a boil. Stir in the couscous, peas, and reserved lemon juice mixture. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand until the peas are tender and the couscous has absorbed all of the liquid, at least 10 minutes.
Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the mint. Serve the lamb chops with the couscous mixture alongside.
