Lamb Shoulder Chops with Shiitake Mushrooms, Swiss Chard, and Mascarpone Cheese Polenta. This easy recipe is a perfect family weeknight dinner that looks like a dish from a fine dining restaurant.
Restaurant-quality recipe for lamb shoulder chops
Sometimes, I want a special dinner, which looks sophisticated like a main course from a fine dining restaurant, but which is easy to make. It took me exactly 1 hour to make this dinner, even though it looks much more complicated, due to the number of ingredients and the fact that it has basically 3 small side dishes (Polenta, Swiss Chard, Grape Tomatoes) plus mushroom-based sauce. The key to the simplicity of this dinner is that the only 2 "sophisticated" parts of it are the sauce and the polenta. The rest of the dinner is pretty basic and easy to make.
This is a perfect recipe for a nice, sit-down dinner. There is nothing difficult in preparing this dish, but the end result definitely looks fancy.
Ingredients you need
Lamb chops:
3 Lamb Shoulder Chops
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 Onion Medium, chopped
1 Carrot Medium, chopped in small cubes
⅓ pound Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
2 Tomatoes, medium, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves
Salt
3 Bay Leaves
½ cup Red Wine
1 ½ cup Chicken Stock
Mascarpone cheese polenta:
2 cups water
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 cup Polenta
2 cups milk
Salt
4 oz Mascarpone Cheese
⅓ cup Heavy Cream
Swiss chard:
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
8 leaves of Swiss Chard, washed, cleaned and dry, center stems removed
Salt
Grape tomatoes:
1tbsp Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
15 Grape Tomatoes
How to prepare lamb shoulder chops
1) Heat oil in a large frying pan till really hot. Add lamb chops and cook, about 7 minutes on each side until well-browned, with a nice color on both sides. Use a splatter screen to keep the pan open but prevent oil from sprinkling out of the pan.
2) Remove lamb chops to a plate, and add chopped onions to the same frying pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes on high.
3) Then, add chopped carrot, mix it with onions and continue cooking for 10 minutes on high with splatter screen on.
4) Add mushrooms, mix them in evenly with onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes on high heat with the splatter screen on, constantly stirring.
5) Add sliced tomatoes, garlic and continue cooking on high for 5-10 minutes. Salt to taste.
6) Add wine, chicken stock, and bay leaves, put lamb chops back into the pan, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 15, a maximum of 20 minutes until the blood comes out of lamb chops.
7) At that point, remove lamb chops to a plate. Lamb chops should be removed after about 15 minutes so that they retain more of that strong lamb flavor.
8) Continue simmering the sauce without lamb chops for 15 more minutes, until concentrated, but not dry, watching so that liquid reduces some but does not reduce to the point where you won't have enough for the sauce for 3 plates. Remove from heat and put back the lamb chops.
How to make creamy polenta
While the lamb is cooking (or sauce cooking without lamb), I made the polenta, swiss chard, and tomatoes. First, I started with Polenta:
1) Place water and polenta in a medium size pan and heat until water boils, occasionally stirring and breaking the clusters of polenta.
2) Leave the pan simmering for about 5 minutes, constantly stirring, then add olive oil, milk, and keep cooking for 20 minutes, frequently stirring to avoid clumps forming and polenta sticking to the pan. Salt to taste.
3) When polenta becomes thick and creamy and soft (not crumbly) to taste, add Mascarpone cheese, mix it well with Polenta until blended, remove from heat.
4) At this point I left Polenta alone, I will add heavy cream later when I reheat polenta for serving. So at this point, just keep the polenta covered, removed from heat.
How to cook Swiss chard and prepare grape tomatoes
In the meantime, while polenta is simmering for 20 minutes, you can prepare Swiss Chard and Grape Tomatoes:
1) In a separate frying pan, heat the olive oil, add swiss chard and cook covered on medium heat for 20 minutes until the greens soften but without losing their bright color. Salt to taste. Keep warm.
2) In a separate frying pan, heat oil with balsamic vinegar, add grape tomatoes.
3) Roast tomatoes on medium-high for about 15 minutes until brown and tender, occasionally turning tomatoes but without breaking them. I prefer not to salt grape tomatoes - they acquire an amazingly soft, almost sweet taste from being roasted in balsamic vinegar.
How to assemble and serve lamb shoulder chops
1) Reheat lamb shoulder chops and mushroom sauce on low heat if needed.
2) Reheat Polenta on medium-low heat and add heavy cream.
3) Prepare 3 large plates. To serve, spoon swiss chard on each plate on one side of the plate and polenta - on the other.
4) Top polenta with mushroom sauce (both vegetables and liquid).
5) Place each lamb chop on top of mushroom sauce.
6) Throw 4 or 5 grape tomatoes over polenta and mushroom sauce. Ready to serve!
Lamb Shoulder Chops with Shiitake Mushrooms, Swiss Chard and Mascarpone Cheese Polenta
Ingredients
Ingredients for lamb shoulder chops
- 3 Lamb Shoulder Chops
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 Onion medium, chopped
- 1 Carrot medium, chopped in small cubes
- ⅓ pound Shiitake Mushrooms sliced
- 2 Tomatoes medium, sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic
- Salt
- 3 Bay Leaves
- ½ cup Red Wine
- 1 ½ cup Chicken Stock
Ingredients for Mascarpone cheese polenta
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 cup Polenta
- 2 cups milk
- Salt
- 4 oz Mascarpone Cheese
- ⅓ cup Heavy Cream
Ingredients for Swiss chard
Grape tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 15 Grape Tomatoes
Instructions
How to cook lamb shoulder chops
- Heat oil in a large frying pan till really hot. Add lamb shoulder chops and cook, about 7 minutes on each side until well-browned, with a nice color on both sides. Use a splatter screen to keep the pan open but prevent oil from sprinkling out of the pan.
- Remove lamb shoulder chops to a plate, and add chopped onions to the same frying pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes on high.
- Then, add chopped carrot, mix it with onions and continue cooking for 10 minutes on high with splatter screen on.
- Add mushrooms, mix them in evenly with onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes on high heat with the splatter screen on, constantly stirring.
- Add sliced tomatoes, garlic and continue cooking on high for 5-10 minutes. Salt to taste.
- Add wine, chicken stock, and bay leaves, put lamb shoulder chops back into the pan, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 15, a maximum of 20 minutes until the blood comes out of lamb chops. At that point, remove lamb chops to a plate. Lamb chops should be removed after about 15 minutes so that they retain more of that strong lamb flavor.
- Continue simmering the sauce without lamb chops for 15 more minutes, until concentrated, but not dry, watching so that liquid reduces some but does not reduce to the point where you won't have enough for the sauce for 3 plates. Remove from heat and add back the lamb chops, off heat. Keep it covered.
How to make creamy polenta
- While the lamb is cooking (or sauce cooking without lamb), make the polenta, swiss chard, and tomatoes. First, start with Polenta.
- Place water and polenta in a medium size pan and heat until water boils, occasionally stirring and breaking the clusters of polenta.
- Leave the pan simmering for about 5 minutes, constantly stirring, then add olive oil, milk, and keep cooking for 20 minutes, frequently stirring to avoid clumps forming and polenta sticking to the pan. Salt to taste.
- When polenta becomes thick and creamy and soft (not crumbly) to taste, add Mascarpone cheese, mix it well with Polenta until blended, remove from heat.
- At this point leave the polenta alone, and add heavy cream later, when you reheat polenta for serving. So at this point, just keep the polenta covered, removed from heat.
How to prepare Swiss chard
- In the meantime, while polenta is simmering for 20 minutes, prepare Swiss Chard and Grape Tomatoes.
- In a separate frying pan, heat the olive oil, add swiss chard and cook covered on medium heat for 20 minutes until the greens soften but without losing their bright color. Salt to taste. Keep warm.
How to prepare grape tomatoes
- In a separate frying pan, heat oil with balsamic vinegar, add grape tomatoes.
- Roast tomatoes on medium-high for about 15 minutes until brown and tender, occasionally turning tomatoes but without breaking them. I prefer not to salt grape tomatoes - they acquire an amazingly soft, almost sweet taste from being roasted in balsamic vinegar.
How to assemble and serve
- Reheat lamb chops and mushroom sauce on low heat if needed.
- Reheat Polenta on medium-low heat and add heavy cream.
- Prepare 3 large plates. To serve, spoon swiss chard on each plate on one side of the plate and polenta - on the other. Top polenta with mushroom sauce (both vegetables and liquid). Place each lamb chop on top of mushroom sauce. Throw 4 or 5 grape tomatoes over polenta and mushroom sauce. Ready to serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I raise Dorper lamb for meat, and I was searching for a lamb recipe to use some shiitake mushrooms from the farmer’s market. I love the idea of using shoulder chops, as they are very flavorful but require the longer cooking to make them tender. This on-the-heat, off-the-heat, on-the-heat approach will give them plenty of time to get tender. I will be making this recipe this week… can already tell I will love it! Then I can share it with my meat customers. Thanks!
Chris, I am so glad you found this recipe. 🙂 This is one of my older recipes, and I am quite surprised you even found it. That meal was really delicious when I made it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 🙂
Great Recipes! Amazing site! I am looking forward to preparing these lamb chops, cornish hens and the mac n cheese. Thank you Julia for sharing!
Hi Lena! Thanks for stopping by and thank you for your sweet words! I love lamb, and love serving it in a tomato-mushroom sauce over creamy polenta - just like in this recipe!
Wow, that polenta sounds incredible. Fancy looking dinners that are easy to make are always a good thing. Especially after a long day at work : )
Yes, that polenta can go with lots of things, not just lamb. Very easy to make, impressive to serve. It also goes well with veal shanks.