Greek Lamb Chops (Paidakia): Easy Plancha Recipe for One

These Greek lamb chops, or lamb paidakia, ask for very little: thin rib chops, a short marinade, a hot plancha and about eight minutes. I cook them for one at Casa Adora, and they are the best argument I know for not fussing with lamb.

Paidakia is the Greek name for small grilled lamb rib chops, and the ones I remember were at a small taverna on the beach on the island of Aegina. I noticed the blackboard showing paidakia. When I asked, the owner said, sorry, that was last night's menu. Then he added that if it was just the two of us, he had a few chops left over in the fridge.

That did it. We ordered cold beer and waited. That lunch is the one I am chasing every time I make these.

Makes 1 — three or four thin chops, about 250g, with nothing complicated about it.

Ingredients for Greek lamb chops

• 3–4 thin bone-in lamb rib chops (about 250g)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, smashed
• 1 tsp dried Greek oregano (I used my wild oregano from Extremadura)
• 1–2 sprigs fresh thyme
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Lemon wedge, to serve

For the ladolemono: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper.

Method

Marinate the lamb. Pat the chops dry. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, smashed garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, and rub it over the chops. Tuck the thyme sprigs in and leave for 20–30 minutes.

Heat the plancha. Preheat a plancha or griddle pan over medium-high heat until properly hot, then oil the surface lightly.

Cook the chops. Lay them on the hot surface and cook for 3–4 minutes a side, until browned with crisp edges. Thin chops cook fast, so stay with them.

Make the ladolemono. Whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice, a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper. This is the classic Greek dressing for grilled meat and fish: oil and lemon, nothing else.

Finish. Brush the hot chops with the ladolemono as they come off the heat, then rest them for 2 minutes.

Serve. Add a last squeeze of lemon and a pinch of oregano. Eat them with your fingers, the way they are meant to be eaten.

What I served with them

I served these Greek lamb chops with a horiatiki salad. The cool tomato and cucumber, the salty feta and the olive oil that collects in the bottom of the plate are exactly what hot, lemony lamb needs. Bread works too, and so do chips, if you want to be properly taverna about it.

Notes

Pat the chops dry before they go in the marinade and again if they have been sitting. A dry surface on a hot plancha is what gives you the crisp, browned edges.

Don't marinate for hours. Lemon juice does the job in half an hour, and longer starts to turn the surface of thin chops mealy.

Thin Spanish-style chops, like the ones sold as chuletillas, are ideal here because they cook in minutes. If you like them, my chuletillas de cordero take the same cut in a Spanish direction.

If you are after a Greek lamb chops recipe with potatoes or one made in the oven, this is not it. Lamb paidakia are a quick, hot, plancha dish, and they are better for it.

Lamb, lemon, oregano and heat. Nothing here needs improving.

If these Greek lamb chops made your lunch, you can buy me a coffee ☕ on Ko-fi.

Footnote

These Greek lamb chops are featured in my Greek Recipes hub, a collection of Greek recipes cooked my way, at Casa Adora and on the road. They also join my Lamb & Goat Recipes collection, from quick chops to slow-braised shanks and curries.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef