Brighten Up the Easter Holiday with These Zesty Lamb Chops

Show: Chopped
Key Lime Lamb Chops

Photo by: Petrina Tinslay ©Owned

Petrina Tinslay, Owned

For this week's Chopped Dinner Challenge, the chefs of Food Network Kitchen chose to feature the basket ingredient Key lime juice. The goal of this challenge was to prove that the citrus juice could be used for more than just the famous Key lime pie. This recipe for Key Lime Lamb Chops with Glazed Carrots turns the juice into a sweet-tart sauce called a gastrique, which glazes the carrots and gets used as the serving sauce for the roasted lamb racks. With its combination of flavors, this dish is the perfect spring awakening for the palate. Plus, it makes a nice addition to the Easter holiday table.

Start by making the gastrique: Melt the sugar with 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan and cook until it turns into a caramel. Then add the lime juice, bring to a boil and let reduce by half. Add the chicken broth and continue to reduce the mixture until you're left with 2/3 cup. Season with salt.

Next, it's onto the carrots: Steam them until tender. Toss them with 3 tablespoons of the gastrique, the chopped parsley and 1 tablespoon butter.

And finally, the lamb: Combine the ground coriander with salt and pepper, and rub the spice mixture onto the lamb racks. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large ovenproof skillet and sear the racks until browned on both sides. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the lamb for about 20 to 25 minutes to achieve medium doneness. Let the lamb rest before serving with the glazed carrots and the remaining gastrique.

Chopped Dinner Challenge

The Chopped Dinner Challenge is a series of recipes showing you how easy it is to cook like a winning Chopped competitor. Every week, FN Dish will showcase a recipe created by Food Network Kitchen that uses at least one of the Chopped basket ingredients from an episode, plus basic grocery goods and simple staples. Consider it your very own Chopped challenge. Just take this frequent tip from the judges: Don’t forget to season!