Herbed Tahini Grilled Lamb Chops with Israeli Couscous is a delicious dinner that is super quick to make on a busy weeknight.
My amazing friend Samantha of the Little Ferraro Kitchen wrote her first cookbook this year, The Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen, and it is a fabulous cookbook if I do say so myself.
Sam worked her tail off on this cookbook, and her hard work paid off. It is a gorgeous book full of amazing Mediterranean dishes from appetizers, main courses, desserts and drinks! There is a little of everything in this book.
While Sam grew up in Hawaii, her blog is all about world cuisine made easy, mostly Mediterranean influenced. Which makes it no surprise that her first cookbook is Mediterranean meals.
When I got my copy I looked through it to figure out what I wanted to make first, something sweet or something savory. Everything looked so amazing!
I flipped through the book and landed on her pomegranate glazed lamb chops recipe and then a few pages later I saw her magical herb tahini sauce. I knew I wanted to make both, so I decided to go with simple grilled lamb chops with the magical herb tahini sauce first.
I want to put this magical herb tahini sauce on everything. The Israeli couscous goes really well with this recipe too. Feel free to sub any other starch or grain if you like.
Tahini is sesame paste that is very common in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines as well as many others. It is made from sesame seeds, and resembles peanut butter in texture. People are probably most familiar with it being a base ingredients for hummus.
Tahini is mild in flavor and a great substitute for peanut butter when allergies are present. It works wonderfully in a sauce with herbs for these grilled lamb chops.
What I love about this herbed tahini sauce is how versatile it is. You can use any variety of fresh herbs in it, I used basil from my garden and it went perfectly with these grilled lamb chops.
Lamb chops are so quick to grill that this recipe comes together fairly quickly. You can make the sauce ahead of time to save time the day of the meal. I set the chops out to get to room temp before grilling and while they are thawing I make the sauce and the couscous.
I could seriously eat this meal several times a week it is just that good!
A few notes about this herbed tahini grilled lamb chops recipe first:
- The magical herb tahini sauce is super quick to make. You can use any fresh herbs you like. Don't care for cilantro? Sub with basil.
- I love Israeli couscous to go with recipes such as these. Relatively quick to make, faster than most rice recipes and you can season with a variety of spices, aromatics etc. You can easily sub any rice or grain such as quinoa if you like.
- I love using bone in lamb chops, they can be on the pricey side so I look for sales. You can use loin chops in place if you want, will be just as good. Pork chops would also be excellent with this sauce, cooking time will be different if using anything other than lamb chops
Herbed Tahini Grilled Lamb Chops with Israeli Couscous
Ingredients
For the Magical Herb Tahini Sauce
- ½ C tahini
- ½ C 10g fresh cilantro, hard stems removed
- ½ C 10g fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, stems removed (or basil)
- 1 lemon zested and juiced ( about one Tablespoon each)
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- Pinch of cayenne pepper optional for spice
- Salt as needed
- ½ C water
- 1 tablespoon 15ml olive oil
For the Couscous
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 ½ C Israeli couscous
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ¾ C chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the Lamb Chops
- 2 lbs lamb chops about 1 inch thick each (10-12 chops)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Make the Magical Herb Tahini Sauce and Israeli Couscous before grilling the lamb chops. Preheat the grill to medium high while preparing the sauce and couscous.
Make the Sauce:
- Combine all of the tahini sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until well incorporated; periodically stopping the processor to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Taste and add more salt if desired. The consistency of the sauce should be pourable, similar to honey. Add more water if needed. Scrape into a bowl and set aside until ready to use. You can swap out cilantro and parsley for any other herb you wish as long as they are fresh. I used fresh basil from my garden in place of the parsley.
Make the Couscous:
- Heat the olive oil in a 2 qt sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the couscous and sauté for 3-5 minutes until some of the couscous is starting to turn golden. Add in the seasonings and stir, then add in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, place lid on pan and simmer for 12-14 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender. Turn off heat and let steam for 10 minutes. Add in the butter and stir, taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.
Grill the lamb chops:
- Brush the lamb chops lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on the preheated grill at medium-high for 3-4 minutes a side for medium-rare chops, flipping only once. If the chops are thinner, or more rare is desired, grill for 2-3 minutes a side. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Spoon about ⅔ cup of the couscous on a plate, top with 2-3 lamb cops, spoon over a few tablespoons of the magical herb tahini sauce. Serve with lemon slices, garnish with fresh herbs such as basil.
John says
Hello,
Great photography, you know what you're doing! Hey I have a question with regard to the couscous instruction: heat the oil then add the couscous and the... sauce? Do you mean some of the tahini sauce?
Shanna says
That is supposed to say "saute" not "Sauce!" thanks for catching that for me! Sorry about that!