Spring is here, and nothing symbolizes this more than lamb.  You either love it or hate it, and I am a lover.  Sometimes I find it hard to reconcile the fact that I am eating that cute, furry animal, but then my taste buds take over, and I go into denial.  I haven’t eaten veal since I was a child and saw the small cage they kept those baby beef in at the county fair, yet I still persist in my love of lamb.

When I was an chef instructor in a culinary school, in one of the classes we had to break down an entire side of lamb into primal cuts.  One of my students was a vegan, and she almost passed out during the demonstration.  Needless to say, I excused her for the day.  I understood her pain, but I was still looking forward to eating that lamb.

As my toddler devoured her Easter dinner, I kept encouraging her to eat her lamb.  Then I remembered that her Godparents had given her a stuffed lamb for Easter, and wondered if she was putting two and two together.  Pink fuzzy lamb = tasty slices of meat in my mouth.  Hmmmm….nah, she’s only two!

I marinated some lamb loin chops in a fresh herb rub I made from herbs from my neighbor’s garden. The loin is a very tender cut, and care should be taken to not overcook them.

Fresh Herb Rub

2 TB chopped garlic, about 6 large cloves

1 TB chopped fresh oregano

1 TB chopped fresh rosemary

1 TB fine lemon zest (I use a microplane zester)

1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Stir well, to distribute the salt.  The rub can be made a 2 days ahead of use.  I would suggest rubbing your meat with this marinade at least 6 hours, and up to 24 hours before cooking. The longer it marinates, the better.  I marinated my loin chops for 48 hours, which ensured the flavor was absorbed completely.

I decided to broil the loin chops, but I would also suggest grilling.  I place the chops on my trusty, crusty broiler pan which I had pre-heated in the broiler for a few minutes.

Broil the chops for 5 minutes, then turn over.  Cook an additional 4-5 minutes, until lamb is rare.  If you don’t like rare meat, cook an additional minute or two.  Let the chops rest for a moment to reabsorb their juices.

If you are not a lamb lover, the herb rub can be used with chicken, turkey or pork.  It will also be good tossed with potatoes before you roast them.