As we close international week here at the Lazy Gastronome, out last recipe utilizes a spice made from grinding the flowers of the sumac plant and is commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. It has a salty, tart flavor that is wonderful on most meats. Here it is used with lamb – another commonly used ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking.
And here’s how you make it…
What you need:
- 8 lamb loin chops
- 1/8 cup sumac
- 5 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 12 oz. frozen peas
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 2 Tablespoons chopped shallot
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
How to Do it:
Mix 4 Tablespoons of olive oil with the sumac to make a paste. Rub the paste on the lamb chops and allow to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Cook in a grill pan or on the grill until they are medium rare. Remove from heat.
While the chops are cooking, sauté the shallots and garlic in the remaining olive oil. When they are soft and aromatic, add the butter.
When the butter is melted, add the remaining ingredients, including the peas.
Cook only until heated through. The peas will lose some of the bright green color because of the lemon juice, so be careful not to over-cook them.
Serve hot with 2 chops per person.
Serves 4
Copyright 2015 The Lazy Gastronome
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Mmmm, I LOVE Persian food…we have a fantastic Persian restaurant here in town, which is where I discovered Sumac. Happy-almost-September and thank you for swinging by Snickerdoodle Sunday! Hope to see you again this weekend. :)
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
Looks delicious. I just had to comment that around here in Kentucky, U.S, we avoid the Sumac plant because it causes a break out on the skin. Wondering if it is the same plant?
The spice used is from a variety that grows in Asia – not sure if that’s the same. According to the Epicentre website, what grows in the US is a different variety – http://theepicentre.com/spice/sumac/ – and you can substitute lemon zest and salt. Sumac is a tart, slightly sour spice.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment! I do appreciate it.
Never used sumac before. Sounds like a yummy dish. Thanks for sharing it!
I love sumac – it’s a tart spice that is delicious on meats, french fries – we love it!! Thanks for stopping by!
This sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday. :)
Thanks Dee – it was pretty tasty!
Yum! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks delicious!
Thanks Mikaela – so glad you stopped by!
This does look delish and I just happened to pick up a fresh jar of sumac! Thanks for bringing your dish to Fiesta Friday!
Mollie
I love sumac – it’s really good on popcorn too!