Moroccan Lamb Chops
Christina Schmidhofer
Notes: Moroccans often add a little harissa, a fiery red chile paste, to servings of a tagine. Look for it in shelf-stable tubes at specialty grocery stores. PREP AND COOK TIME: 30 minutes.
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Pour oil into a 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add lamb chops and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
Step 2
2
Add onion and garlic to pan; stir often until limp, about 4 minutes. Add cinnamon and cumin; stir until fragrant, 1 minute longer. Stir in broth, tomato paste, apricots, and garbanzos; bring to a simmer. Return lamb chops to pan.
Step 3
3
Cover and simmer, turning chops once, until apricots are plump and chops are barely pink in the center (cut to test), 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 4
4
Set two lamb chops on each of four plates or in shallow bowls. Spoon garbanzo mixture around meat. Sprinkle with parsley.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 lamb loin chops (each 1 to 1 1/2 in. thick and about 4 oz.), rinsed and patted dry
1 onion (8 oz.), peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ground cumin
2 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dried apricots or pitted prunes (or some of each)
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzos, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped parsley