A one-tray recipe to take the hassle out of cooking lamb chops
It’s fast, no-fuss, and allows your oven to showcase what it can really do.
This week I’ve adapted the one-tray concept to lamb loin chops served on a bed of chickpeas, fennel, marinated artichokes and feta. While grilling isn’t arduous, cooking chops all in one tray requires fewer pans and therefore less cleaning. This is reason enough. This method simplifies the process: first, you use the oven to briefly heat the base, then switch it to grill mode to finish cooking. It’s fast, no-fuss, and allows your oven to showcase what it can really do.
I take the tray straight to the table and top it with finely shaved fennel and rocket tossed in lemon juice for freshness, texture, and colour, though this step is optional if it feels like it’s too much.
I use a 35cm x 22cm x 10cm tray with a capacity of 3.5L, but the size isn’t crucial; the main thing is that the meat in both these recipes is in one layer.
Try also my chicken and chorizo traybake recipe.
Lamb & chickpea tray bake
All grills and lamb chops cook differently. Mine takes about 8 minutes on each side for blushing pink lamb with a nice crust. Stay close so you can keep an eye on your chops as they grill.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6-8 lamb chops
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 1 medium fennel with fronds attached
- 2 x cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 160g marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 100g feta
- 1 large handful rocket leaves, to serve
Method
- Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan-forced). In a mortar and pestle, smash oregano and salt together. When resembling a paste, add honey, red wine vinegar, fennel seeds, lemon zest and oil. Mix well. Pour half the dressing over the lamb chops and reserve the other half for the chickpeas.
- Shave the fennel using a mandolin or cut as thinly as you can. Set the fronds aside for garnish. Plunge the sliced fennel into a bowl of ice-cold water to shock it and make it crisp.
- In a tray, add your chickpeas, artichokes, and the remaining dressing. Toss to combine. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, give the chickpeas a toss, crumble over the feta, and top with the lamb chops, pouring over any reserved dressing. Switch the oven to grill mode on full whack. Return the tray to the oven, placing it on the top rack so it’s nice and close to the grill. Grill the lamb chops for roughly 8 minutes, then flip the chops over and grill for another 7-8 minutes.Meanwhile, drain the fennel and pat it dry with kitchen paper. In a bowl, toss the fennel, fennel fronds and rocket with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt. Remove the tray from the oven. Pile the fennel and rocket on top of the lamb and serve immediately. Serves 4