Recipe by Thulisa Martins |  Serves: 6 |  Cooking Time: 1 hour

This recipe of spicy plum lamb chops is perfect for the oven, grill and even better suited to put on the braai!

It has the perfect flavour profile for Christmas and is sure to tick all the boxes.

You can make it as spicy as you like, so tweak the spiciness to your liking.

Don’t miss the chance to make a dish that your family just won’t forget!

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE

4 onions, diced

500ml (2 cups) water

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml (2 tsp) ground cumin

240g brown sugar

100g tamarind paste

4 star anise

50g ginger, freshly grated

200ml Clarks Original Sticky Plum Sauce 

20ml (4 tsp) Worcestershire sauce 

Juice of 3 lemons

2 fresh red chillies, thinly sliced

15ml (1 tbsp) soya sauce

1KG of Lamb chops or a rack of lamb

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive oil, to fry

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For the spicy plum sauce, bring the onions, water, garlic, cumin, sugar, tamarind paste and star anise to a boil in a large saucepan, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the ginger, plum sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and chillies and cook for a further 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Strain the sauce, using a large sieve, and stir the soya sauce into the strained sauce.

3. For the lamb chops, season the lamb with salt and pepper and brown in a little olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat, 2 minutes on each side. Cut into lamb cutlets and baste with the spicy plum sauce. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast in the oven, 8 minutes for rare, 10 minutes for medium, 12 – 15 minutes for well done. Baste generously halfway through the cooking time.

4. Let the lamb rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish if desired with lemon wedges, lemon zest, peas, pea shoots and whole chillies. Drizzle with marinade juices from the roasting pan.

NOTES

This dish is great served with garlic-butter vegetables of your choice. The sticky plum sauce can also be used as a marinade for chicken wings and lamb or pork ribs.