By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(323)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Lamb chops cooked with tomatoes is traditional, but less so when the tomatoes are green. Here, unripe, green tomatoes add acidity, which works nicely with the rich gaminess of the shoulder chops. If you can’t get green tomatoes, you can make this with the half-green, half-red tomatoes, the kind that haven’t fully ripened on the vine before they need to be picked in advance of a frost. In a pinch you can even use tomatillos or bland, out-of-season supermarket tomatoes, which will add the necessary juiciness and vegetable matter to the pan if not the same complexity of flavor (a squeeze of lemon would help). In any case, make sure to taste before stirring in the honey, since the acid content of tomatoes varies widely. And if you aren’t a lamb lover but are wondering what to do with a plethora of green tomatoes, you can make this recipe with pork chops; just add a few minutes to the cooking time.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 4(1-inch thick) bone-in shoulder lamb chops or boneless sirloin lamb chops
- 2teaspoons ground coriander
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
- ½teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
- 2large shallots, chopped
- 6anchovy fillets
- 3½cups diced green tomatoes (2 to 3 tomatoes)
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 1 to 2teaspoons honey, to taste
- ½cup chopped fresh basil, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
424 calories; 33 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 542 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Preparation
Step
1
Season lamb chops with coriander, salt and pepper. If you have time, let meat rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Step
2
Heat a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; once it thins and runs all over the pan, add lamb. Cook meat, without moving, until undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook other side until golden, about 2 minutes more. It should still be very rare inside. Transfer lamb to a plate.
Step
3
Return skillet to heat and lower flame to medium. Stir in shallots and anchovies. Cook, stirring, until anchovies dissolve, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, garlic and a large pinch of salt. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook until tomatoes are almost softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in honey. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Step
4
Push tomatoes to side of skillet. Place lamb back in center of skillet. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook lamb to taste, about 2 to 3 minutes more for medium-rare (or longer if you like). To serve, spoon tomatoes over chops, garnish generously with basil and drizzle with more olive oil.
Ratings
5
out of 5
323
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Cooking Notes
TC
We used a mix of green-to-ripe tomatoes. In fact, we made this recipe because we were overwhelmed with tomatoes. It was really outstanding. Will definitely make this again.
AV
Great recipe! I'm not a lover of anchovies so I substituted about 2-3 tablespoons of capers. It still tasted fantastic! Will definitely make again.
Steph
Fantastic use of my end of season green garden tomatoes. To make ahead, in the morning I made the recipe up to the return of the chops to the pan, then cooled and refrigerated covered. That evening I reheated the covered pan, then flipped the chops until heated through. Voila! Perfect medium chops and killer green tomato accompaniment.
Stephen
Cooked bone in pork chops instead of lamb. Tasted wonderful. Stopped eating the pork to concentrate on the green tomatoes. This was the best recipe for them I've ever tasted.
bsaylor
We used scallions because they needed to be used up and we have only gray shallots right now, and pork chops. The only mistake was adding a bit too much salt. Definitely a good way to use green tomatoes.
Laura Berg
Served over polenta and greens. Delicious.
elgoodbill
As written, a wonderful recipe. I’ve also made it in a weeknight version with thick pork chops and tomatillos which is pretty nice too. For those who say they’re not into anchovies, it’s still pays to cook with them. They add surprising flavor and richness - and you’d never know!
alacarte
Delicious! I made the recipe using 2 shoulder chops and ended up using 2.5 cups tomatoes because that is what my large tomato yielded...and that worked out fine. Can probably err on the side of more tomatoes than what's called for. Substituted fish sauce for anchovies and used a bit of white cooking wine and water to deglaze pan while the tomatoes were cooking.
Tony
I’ve been making this for years as is and love the recipe. Today I made it with a spicy merguez instead of the chops and it was sensational! Skip the ground coriander, S/P seasoning and adjust timing as needed. Hope you like it as much as I did!
HanTran
Insanely good!!!! My tomatoes were half green half ripe and worked fine. Was unusually out of anchovies so used some fish sauce, worked great. Tossed some sage from the garden in with the basil. Served with quinoa and yellow squash from the garden. Melissa knocked this out of the park!
superb
Great recipe with the variations that I had on hand. Used half red onion instead of shallots and three tomatillos. I don’t eat anchovies so omitted that. Honey was crucial. Exciting flavors.
a cook from Toronto
Will NOT make this again. Despite following the recipe exactly, but cutting it in half for two, there was no discernible flavour and the green cherry tomatoes I used, from my garden, were almost bitter and did not melt down.
TB
Like MelissaJames, I disliked this dish immensely. I found the tomatoes had a strong bitterness, and their overall taste did not work with the lamb in any way. I used green tomatoes harvested from my garden before our first freeze.
Debra
Used bone-in pork chops, and capers instead of anchovies because that's what I had. Otherwise made as written. Served with a green salad and a baked potato. Deelishus.
MFK
Cooked as is, w lamb. Absolutely delicious and dead simple. Might reduce salt in the spice rub next time. Served w green salad & steamed corn on the cob. Perfect late August meal.
Laura Berg
Served over polenta and greens. Delicious.
Ann
Made with pork chops, excellent!
Noah
I made it with chicken thighs and it with delicious!
meggeers
Fabulous recipe; used capers also and leeks instead of shallots, the tangy of the tomatoes is so nice with the lamb.. and an easy recipe
Jim Carmin
Made with pork chops and substituted fish sauce as I sadly had no anchovies, and the last of my garden's green tomatoes: totally delicious!
Deb
Used pork chops and mostly green but some partly ripe tomatoes. Otherwise, followed the recipe as written. Deelishus. A great way to use those green tomatoes.
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