Vietnamese Lamb Lollipops

       Every once in a while when I'm feeling rich and in the mood to treat myself, I'll buy a rack of lamb. In this particular case however, I was actually feeling extremely broke and dreading the upcoming finals so it was more of a coping mechanism than anything else. Cooking a good meal can do wonders on the mood, I can promise you that!

       Usually when I make lamb, I fall back on one of my all time favorite recipes. It also happens to be my first blog post ever, nearly two years ago. (Click here for Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Balsamic Reduction) I figured this time would be a good opportunity to blog about something new, and I found the perfect recipe!

       I'll be honest I'm not sure exactly what makes these Vietnamese, but that's what the original recipe was called so I'm sticking with it. Tender lamb lollipops marinated and cooked in soy sauce with sweet honey and chili powder.... They were absolutely delicious!


 

        They were extremely easy too. I always pan sear my lamb so I was a little uneasy about baking them, especially when the cut is so thin, but they came out super tender and perfectly cooked. In my opinion it's totally worth spending the extra money to get such a delicious cut.

        I served them with roasted carrots with a greek yogurt sauce (I'm blogging about those next because they were sooooo good) and some garlic mashed potatoes. It was a delicious, hearty meal with a great balance of flavors.


     So treat yourself during finals week, or celebrate the holidays!

    (PS- Stay tuned for the carrot recipe! I highly recommend serving them with this lamb. An addition of greens would be good as well.)






Vietnamese Lamb Lollipops

Ingredients:
12 3oz lamb rib chops
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp reduce sodium soy sauce/tamari
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Season chops with garlic, chili powder, sugar and salt and pepper.
Place in a roasting pan.
Mix together lime juice, soy sauce and olive oil and pour over lamb. Marinate at least three hours, or overnight.
Remove lamb from fridge and allow to reach room temperature while you Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roast in preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes (for medium to medium rare) or desired doneness.

Serve with the carrot recipe coming up next!







Recipe altered from allrecipes.com