Lamb Chops with Cherry Marsala Sauce

The Trout found this recipe on Blue Kitchen blog and since we had the dried cherries in the pantry, lamb chops in the freezer, rosemary growing outside the door, this sounded perfect for a Sunday dinner.

I also found out that February is National Lamb month.  As far as I am concerned, every day could be national lamb day.  We really love it.

Along side this beautiful lamb chop in cherry sauce was a lettuce salad with a lemon vinaigrette and wild rice which we bought while traveling through northern Minnesota last summer to attend a wedding.  Wild rice is not a true rice, rather a seed of a grass.  It has a wonderful nutty taste and can be quite expensive.  It goes wonderfully with wild game or poultry also.

We really liked this sauce.  We did change it a bit and were very happy with the end results.

Lamb Chops with Cherry Marsala Sauce

1/3 cup dried tart cherries
4 lamb loin chops, about 1 inch thick
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot or scallions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup dry Marsala wine

Place the dried cherries in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let rest 15 minutes and then drain.

Grill the chops to your liking, cover and let rest until the sauce is done.  "Blue Kitchen" sautèed the chops on the stove top.  We prefer grilling them.

Melt butter in a pan and sautè shallots until just tender, about 3 minutes, stirring to avoid burning.  Add garlic and rosemary and cook, stirring until fragrant, 30 seconds.  Add broth and Marsala to skillet.  Stir in cherries and cook for 2-3 minutes, until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened.  I did add another pat of butter at the end to add some body, flavor and gloss to the sauce.

Spoon sauce over the lamb chops.  A very nice change for a perfectly grilled lamb chop.  Other than the kitchen looking like the 'perfect storm' had hit it, we did enjoy this Sunday dinner.