Moorish Minted Lamb

I do not know about you, but I love when recipes are simple and this one is about and simple as it gets. Prep the lamb and it can sit in the rub while you get the rest of dinner going, then cook it just before you are ready to serve it all up. The not-so-secret ingredient is a green tea blend called Moorish Mint Tea. It is made by Samovar Life, a small San Francisco tea company. It consists of ginger, peppermint, green tea, licorice, fennel, cardamom, black pepper and clove. Their teas are available for sale in their tea shops around SF as well as online at www.samovarlife.com. This tea is just as good iced as it is hot and I often enjoy it as a cold refreshing drink on warm summer days. However, if you would rather make this recipe without buying the tea you can do so by mixing the above mentioned ingredients in equal proportions (1/8 tsp each, per serving). Use anise seed for the licorice.

Makes: 2 servings

Preparation time: 30m
Cooking time: 30m
Total time: 36m

Ingredients:

  • 4 lamb rib chops
  • 2 teaspoons Moorish mint tea
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Equipment: empty spice grinder

Instructions:

  1. Put the Moorish Mint tea into an empty spice grinder.
  2. Lay the lamb rib chops out next to each other and grind half of the tea onto one side of the ribs. Flip them over and grind the rest of the tea onto the other side. Then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Let the lamb come to room temp for 30-40 minutes before cooking. This allows the meat to cook more evenly and not dry out.
  3. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick spray.
  4. Place the lamb ribs into the hot sauté pan and brown on each side for about 3 minutes, until cooked through.
  5. Remove the lamb from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.