Oven-baked Lamb Chops

We love, love, love lamb in our house and here is one of our favourites – Oven-baked Lamb Chops.

If you have the time or inclination you will love the option of having the Onion and Rosemary Sauce with it as well. It comes highly recommended. Your guests will be licking their plates.

I love that lamb and all the yummy goodness and taste in the fat is allowed as part of a deeply satisfying S meal on the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. Lamb is such a healthy meat to eat. Did you know that over half of the fat in lamb is unsaturated, with only 36% of the fat in lamb being saturated? And that most of the unsaturated fat is monounsaturated, which is commonly found in a Mediterranean-type diet.

Still not convinced lamb fat is good for you? Lamb is one of the richest sources of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), something our body cannot manufacture itself. Lamb is packed full of Omega-6 fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Never heard of CLA and wondering what’s the big deal?

A host of research has been conducted on animals, under microscopes, and with humans to determine the impact of CLA on disease. Results have shown CLA to be a potent ally for combating cancer. Animal studies show that as little as 0.5 percent CLA in your diet could reduce tumours by over 50 percent, including breast, colorectal, lung, skin, and stomach cancer.

Do you know anyone with asthma? Feed them lamb!

Individuals get asthma when they produce much higher levels of leukotrienes, which are fatty molecules of the immune system and at least 1000 times more potent than histamine at causing bronchial constriction. These highly inflammatory leukotrienes are produced when an enzyme known as 5-lipoxygenase (5-lipox) acts on a particular fat called arachidonic acid (AA).

CLA, which we consume each time we enjoy lamb, helps fight 5-lipox and AA inflammation without harming your arteries. CLA does this by converting inside your body to both DHA and EPA, both of which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.

CLA also help combat cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides and osteoporosis.

Do you need more reasons to eat lamb?

How about what CLA do for insulin resistance. CLA’s actions actually mimic the effect of synthetic diabetic drugs. Testing on mice with type 2 diabetes has shown CLA’s to improve insulin action and reduce circulating glucose. And when tested on us real people, the early results are just as positive when consuming CLA for longer than eight weeks.

Exciting research on humans has shown that CLA has been beneficial in lowering body fat, with even greater improvement in those who combine exercise with regular dietary intake of CLA. Animal research has been even more promising, with significant improvements seen in both reducing body fat and increasing lean body mass.

Since CLA cannot be manufactured in the human body, you must get it from your diet by consuming high-quality dietary sources such as grass-fed lamb and beef.

But wait, there’s more . . .

Lamb is an excellent natural source of high-quality protein. The protein in lamb is nutritionally complete, with all 8 essential amino acids in the proper ratio.

Lamb is a source of easily absorbed iron and provides 45% of the daily requirement of zinc, which we all know is essential for growth, healing and a healthy immune system. Did you know that lamb is a great source of B vitamins, essential for metabolic reactions in the body? Lamb provides over 100% of the RDA of B12, (found solely in animal meat), which is needed for normal functioning of the brain and nervous system. Lamb is a good source of thiamine (B1), essential to normal metabolism and nerve function. Lamb contains trace mineral elements such as copper, manganese and selenium are also found in lamb.

So go ahead and throw some lamb on the barbie! Or in this case, the oven 🙂

Oven-baked Lamb Chops has been a hit with many aussie mamas. Feed it to your family and let me know what you think 🙂

Oven-baked Lamb Chops with Onion and Rosemary Sauce

Recipe Type: Dinner

Author: Donna

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

For THM purposes, one serve is an S meal, just add as many S veggies as you like.

Ingredients

8 large lamb chops or 16 small chops
2 small onions, peeled and chopped
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
For the sauce
2 large onions, peeled and chopped small
2 rounded tbsp rosemary leaves
50g butter
1/2 tsp glucomannan – experiment with how much your family likes
175 ml cream
175ml almond milk
350 ml vegetable stock
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
garnish with sprigs of watercress (optional)

Instructions

Place the lamb chops in a shallow roasting tin with the onion tucked around them. Season with salt and pepper
Place them on the highest shelf of the oven and bake at 200 degrees. How long you cook them for is up to you – my kids love the skins crisp, so we leave them in for around 45 minutes, but if you like your lamb pink give them 30 minutes.

Onion and Rosemary Sauce

While the chops are cooking, place butter in a small saucepan and melt.
Add the onions and sweat over a very gentle heat for 5 minutes.
Bruise the rosemary leaves with a pestle and mortar to release their oil, then chop them very finely and add them to the onion. Continue to cook gently, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes without letting the onions colour too much.
Gradually add the cream and almond milk, followed by the stock, bit by bit, stirring vigorously. Add glucomannan to thicken and finish off with a good whisk using the balloon whisk.
Season with salt and pepper and let the sauce barely simmer for 2 minutes, then remove it from the heat. Taste to check the seasoning, then pour it into a warmed serving bowl or jug and cover the surface with cling wrap until the chops are ready.
Serve the chops with a garnish of watercress and the sauce poured over.