Greek Lamb Chops

Anyone who knows my dad could be forgiven for thinking that he suffers from some sort of identity crisis. Having been a tradie all of his life, he has worked with people from a whole range of different cultural backgrounds. Being a little food obsessed, my dad has certainly embraced many of the dishes introduced to him by his workmates. I think the funny thing here is that he always went through phases where for a few weeks all we would be seeing at the dinner table were dishes from one particular region of the world. I think it was probably Greek or Italian first, and then we got Chinese and then Indian crept in as well. Now I'm definitely not complaining - I doubt too many of my school friends could say that they came home to find a dinner of char sui pork neck with fried rice, or tandoori chicken with naan bread on the menu for dinner.

In a lot of ways I think I owe my passion for food to my dad. His ability to create something delicious without a recipe or with whatever happened to be in the fridge and cupboards always amazed me. So when I moved out and started cooking for myself, I tried to be as much like him as I could.

One of my favourite cuisines would definitely have to be Greek food. I love lamb, and I love garlic, i love their dips and antipasto. When I was in Greece a few years ago, I was in food heaven. Everything was fresh and flavoursome, but inexpensive as well. So one of the first dishes I tried to create myself when I moved out was a Greece-inspired lamb dish. Because I often don't have time to cook a roast after work or on a busy weekend, I tend to opt for chops as my cut of choice when I'm eating lamb. If i had the money, I'm sure I would be munching on some lamb cutlets as often as possible.

So here is my recipe for Greek Lamb Chops. I tend to just wing things in the kitchen and never really pay attention to how much of anything I am putting into a dish - so hopefully I have this right. If not, I'll adjust my measurements next time I make them (which is looking like tomorrow night).

Ingredients:
- 4 Lamb chops or lamb steaks (I prefer loin chops)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pepper to taste

Directions
- Simply combine all of your marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag or container with a lid and shake until combined.
- Throw in your lamb and again shake around so that each piece of meat is evenly coated.
- Marinate for at least an hour. I like to leave mine overnight so that the flavour really soaks into the lamb.
- How you cook these is really up to you. My preferred method is on the BBQ, but thats just because I love to chuck just about anything on the BBQ. I also like to cook them on a tray under the grill (broiler for any US readers), which lets all the excess fat drip off and makes the chops lovely and crispy. But you could also fry the chops or even book them in the oven.

Sometimes I'll make a little extra marinade and soak some zucchini and eggplant in it as well - absolutely delicious on the BBQ.