Catalan Lamb Chops with Apricots and Sage

I’ve had my eye on this Catalan Lamb Chops with Apricots and Sage recipe for a while. Lamb is a favorite of mine, and I don’t get to eat it very often. My husband doesn’t like lamb, and marriage is about compromise. Well, that and I just can’t be mean and make him something he hates. But that doesn’t mean I have to make food he likes for my weekday lunches. So this week I decided to treat myself and give this recipe a try just because. Lamb chops braised in a sauce made with apricots, rosemary, and sage sounded too good to pass up. Literally no other reason than that.

These beautifully seasoned, fork-tender shoulder lamb chops are simmered in a heady sauce redolent of vermouth, apricots, sage, tomatoes, and cinnamon. It was inspired by a dish from Spain’s Mediterranean coast. The aromatic combination of ingredients harkens back to the Moorish culture that imparted many lush flavors to the international stew pot. Serve the chops on a bed of wide noodles or mashed potatoes.

Recipe Author: More Than Gourmet
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The Ingredients

The list of ingredients for these Catalan lamb chops wasn’t too long, and most of the items were easy to find. I had a few things on hand like flour, salt, and pepper, but I had to buy most of the ingredients.

I ordered my groceries online this week, and Whole Foods decided to send me the biggest onion I have ever seen. It was the size of a grapefruit! The recipe calls for a large onion, but this was way beyond that, so I only used half.

The only item I couldn’t find locally was the Glace d'Agneau Gold® Roasted Lamb Stock. Publix and Whole Foods don’t stock lamb stock at all, so I had to order it from Amazon. Thankfully, they had it for just over $5 and delivered it the next day.

Catalan Lamb Chops with Apricots Ingredients
Lamb shoulder chops, dried apricots, lamb stock, onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, dry vermouth, flour, rosemary, sage, cinnamon stick, vegetable oil, salt, and pepper

The Process

The instructions for this recipe were well written and easy to follow. I had my Catalan lamb chops prepped in 20 minutes (that includes everything from steps 1-2). However, there were a couple of things that weren’t explicitly listed.

I wasn’t sure of was how much flour to use in step 1. The instructions say to coat the lamb chops in flour, but an exact amount of flour wasn’t listed. I added 1/4 cup to a large plastic bag (gallon size) and shook each lamb chop until coated. That worked nicely.

The instructions also say to brown the lamb chops, but times weren’t listed. I chose to brown each side for 3 minutes. The meat was a golden brown, but the bone did blacken a bit where it touched the pan. I think I could have reduced the heat a bit, but it didn’t affect the taste.

Other than that, making these Catalan lamb chops went very smoothly. I baked the chops for 1 1/2 hours in my 12-inch cast iron pan, and the meat was falling off the bone when I removed them from the pan. The sauce was a bit thin for my liking, so I boiled it on the stove for 6 minutes while the lamb rested.

Here is how long it took to make this recipe:

  • 20 minutes to prep
  • 90 minutes to cook
  • 6 minutes to thicken the sauce
  • 1 hour 56 minutes total
Lamb shoulder chops
Lamb shoulder chops

So how was it?

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Accurate Time(s)
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Lamb chops braised in a rich sauce made with apricots, tomatoes, and fresh herbs are a decadent meal that's surprisingly easy to make. They are until they are fall-off-the-bone tender with the apricots giving it a pop of sweetness that works well with the other savory flavors. This recipe takes about two hours from start to finish with just under half an hour of active time. And although it sounds complex the instructions are easy to follow and break everything down pretty well.
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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Lamb chops braised in a rich sauce made with apricots, tomatoes, and fresh herbs are a decadent meal that's surprisingly easy to make. They are until they are fall-off-the-bone tender with the apricots giving it a pop of sweetness that works well with the other savory flavors. This recipe takes about two hours from start to finish with just under half an hour of active time. And although it sounds complex the instructions are easy to follow and break everything down pretty well. Catalan Lamb Chops with Apricots and Sage