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Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Chops with Blueberry-Thyme Compote & Butternut Squash Purée

Pistachio-Crusted-Lamb-Chops

Talk about a gourmet meal… prepared right from home! A delicious sweet and savoury fusion of Middle-eastern and European flavours.

These French-trimmed lamb chops are marinated in a mix of Bilberry powder and Arabic 7-spice blend, then grilled and encrusted with toasted pistachios. Whereas blueberries were cooked down with caramelised shallots, balsamic vinegar, red wine, and sprigs of thyme to create a thick sauce to glaze and pour over the grilled succulent lamb.

Serve this over butternut squash purée for quite the impression.

Pistachio-Crusted-Lamb-Chops-2

This recipe was a winner of the Bilberry Recipe Competition in Dubai, UAE. Check out the full post on how this went about… 🙂

Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Chops with Blueberry-Thyme Compote & Butternut Squash Purée

Created by on June 18, 2016

  • Prep Time: 1h
  • Cook Time: 45m

Ingredients

Lamb Chops

  • 1 Bone-in Rack of Lamb; French-trimmed, and cut into 8 individual chops
  • 1/4 cup pistachios
  • 2 tsp 7-spice mix (a blend of allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, & rose buds)
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 Bilberry packet
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • 2 TBS red wine vinegar
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 1 TBS sea salt
  • 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Blueberry Compote

  • 250 gms frozen blueberries (you may use fresh, with liquid and sweetness adjustments)
  • 1 TBS butter
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 TBS brown sugar
  • 1 cup red wine (you may use non-alcoholic cooking wine. I used a combination of port and sherry for their sweetness)
  • 1/4 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp cornstarch and water slurry

Butternut Squash Purée

  • 500 gms butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 2 TBS butter
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

For the lamb chops

  1. In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients of the marinade together, add the lamb chops, and mix to coat evenly. The chops will turn into a vibrant purple from the bilberry powder! Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours.
  2. Heat up a small pan, and dry-toast the pistachios for a few minutes until fragrant. Set aside to cool and get crisp. Place in a pestle and mortar (or plastic bag) and crush some to get a combination of fine grains and medium pieces. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the compote and the puree.

For the blueberry compote

  1. In a small, non-reactive pot over medium-low heat, add the butter, shallots, and sugar. Sweat until soft and they start to caramelize, about 5-8 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
  2. Add in the wine and bring to a simmer for a few minutes.
  3. Add in the frozen blueberries, balsamic vinegar, salt, and thyme sprigs. The blueberries will release their water content. Bring the mixture to a low simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes, crushing some of the blueberries along the way.
  4. When the sauce has reduced by half, add in the cornstarch slurry and cook for another minute until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon.
  5. Turn off the heat, cover, and keep warm.

For the butternut squash puree

  1. Melt the butter with a sprig of thyme, and set aside to infuse.
  2. Steam the cubed squash for 8-10 minutes until fork tender
  3. While still hot, pass the squash through a food mill or fine sieve over a glass bowl.
  4. Whip in the butter and salt, discarding the sprig of thyme. Keep warm.

Cooking the lamb chops

  1. Remove the lamb chops and pat dry, discarding any leftover marinade.
  2. Brush on some oil, and sprinkle with extra salt and pepper on each side.
  3. Heat a grill pan over high heat until almost smoking, add the chops and sear for about 3-4 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Cook to desired doneness. For medium to medium-well, a thermometer inserted reads between 57C - 62C.
  4. Remove the lamb chops from the grill, brush with the warm blueberry glaze, and dip them into the crushed pistachios.
  5. Serve the lamp chops over the butternut squash puree, and top each chop with a generous helping of blueberry compote.

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