Arguably the best recipe on my blog, Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri pairs deep and gamey flavors with bright, spring ingredients. Add crisp peas, soft lima beans, and perfectly fork-tender potatoes and you have a beautiful, colorful, out-of-this world dinner.
I’m writing this post and then I’m calling my mother. She will be making Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri for Easter, so she’ll need this recipe. I won’t be there, but I need her to make it. I knew I liked lamb, but now I know I love lamb because I just made arguably the best dish on this blog.
Growing up, my dad grilled lamb every year for Easter. Or maybe he made it in the oven. I didn’t pay much attention to the who, where, what of cooking when I was a kid. I just remember the lamb and copious amounts of green mint jelly and a tall glass of 2% milk. (The milk isn’t important, I just remember being made to drink milk with every single dinner.) The green mint jelly though, let’s touch on that.
I just did a quick Amazon search for “mint jelly” and as soon as I saw the Polaner bottle — yep, that’s the one. A flood of memories. Kelly green, sticky sweet, real mint jelly. I slathered that stuff on. My child’s palate wasn’t refined enough to appreciate the subtle flavors of lamb. But sugar? Oh, yeah. I understood sugar.
As a 20-something, my palate is sure as hell refined enough for lamb now. Particularly Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri. (You guys, also, I cook everything in a skillet or in the oven because I have no grill and if I did have a grill, I wouldn’t know how to use it. Should I graduate from skillet to a grill pan? I’ve thought about it, but, honestly — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Amiright?)
Let’s talk about this lamb, friends. Lamb is a little different from beef steak and I think I might like it better. Let’s discuss the how and why.
Fat
Beef steak is marbled with fat. Marbling is the streaks of fat you see throughout the body of a cut of meat. When you cook steak, some of this fat melts, making the steak juicy, tender, and moist throughout. Lamb is not marbled — the fat is found around the outside. If you cook the lamb before trimming the fat, it helps to preserve the natural juices. It also imparts some flavor and juiciness of its own as some of this fat will also melt into the lamb steak. However, once you trim the fat from the outside of the lamb steak, you have a leaner cut of meat. I don’t know the physiology behind these differences and I’m not going to Google it because I’ll be tempted to then pass the info onto you and even though I’m sort of a foodie fun fact freak, maybe you guys aren’t and so I won’t bore you. But there MUST be a physiological reason! SO INTERESTING!
[Side note, the fat trimmings from lamb can be given to your pup and he or she will love you even deeper and for a longer forever. … I guess the same could be true of beef steak as well. But I’m arguing for lamb here!]
Flavor
I don’t know guys. Close call here. I like beef steak a lot, but I’m totally digging the gamey, hearty, deeply caramel flavor of the lamb. Yes, deeply caramel. That’s what I taste! I’m sitting here tasting lamb like it’s a fine wine and trying to suss out all the flavors. It’s earthy and complex and I love it paired with my bright flavors — mango, mint, and cilantro.
[And after treating the lamb like a fine wine, I literally stuck the bone between my teeth and tore of every last tiny meat morsel. I’m an animal.]
Without a doubt, I’m gonna say that I’ve never had better lamb. (Sorry, Dad, but also, not sorry because I’m sending this recipe your way. My dad <3’s cooking meat.) And I’m venturing to say that Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri and Spring Peas is one of the best composed dishes on this blog. The flavor combinations are unreal. And the texture combinations too — the crisp peas + soft lima beans and their soft spring flavors. The perfectly fork-tender potatoes. The entire dish is harmonious. The colors are beautiful. I’ve eaten it hot and I’ve eaten it cold and it was equally good both times.
Have I sold you yet? Full permission to call my parents after Easter to double-check, but I promise Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri is every bit as tasty as I’m making it out to be.
Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri and Spring Peas
Arguably the best recipe on my blog, Skillet Lamb with Mango-Mint Chimichurri pairs deep and gamey flavors with bright, spring ingredients. Add crisp peas, soft lima beans, and perfectly fork-tender potatoes and you have a beautiful, colorful, out-of-this world dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 4- ounce lamb loin chops
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 16 tiny red, white, and purple potatoes
- salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/3 cup cubed ripe mango
- 1 bunch mint leaves removed
- 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves removed
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 cup frozen lima beans cooked according to package instructions
Instructions
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Marinate the lamb in a baking dish or gallon-size freezer bag with 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and black pepper. Place in the refrigerator 4 hours or overnight.
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Once you are done marinating the lamb, remove it from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, slice potatoes in half, and set aside.
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To make the chimichurri: Add cumin seeds to a small dry skillet over low heat. Toast about 3 minutes or until fragrant. Transfer to a food processor and add mango, mint, and cilantro. Blend until finely chopped, slowly adding remaining olive oil.
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To cook the lamb: place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb and marinade, removing the rosemary sprigs, and cook lamb 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness and desired doneness. Transfer lamb to four plates, leaving the marinade in the skillet.
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Place skillet and reserved marinade over low heat and add peas. Cook peas 1 minute then add potatoes and lima beans, stirring until everything is heated through. Using a slotted spoon, divide vegetables among four plates and serve with chimichurri.
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