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Lamb chops with butternut fritters recipe

23 January 2025
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Variations on Karoo lamb chops and butternut fritters dishes have been Samara favourites since we opened our doors, and Head Chef Vandeline Pienaar has breathed new life into the recipe with the addition of a few special twists.

If you can, try to source free-range veld-reared Karoo lamb – with a natural herby taste, this is the bee’s knees of lamb (if we do say so ourselves). We source the lamb for our Karoo Kitchen from local flocks including our own regeneratively-farmed herd which browses on indigenous Karoo bossies and restores the veld at the same time.Butternut (or pumpkin) fritters are nostalgic for many South Africans. This version does away with the thick creamy caramel sauce to bring a more refined sweet taste into the dish.
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the butternut fritters (makes 10)
  • 620g butternut
  • 250g cake flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 7ml baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • thyme
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • cooking oil
For the lamb chops
  • 4 Karoo lamb chops
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
Method
For the butternut fritters
  • 1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
  • 2. Peel and dice the butternut
  • 3. Place on an oven tray, drizzle with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper, and cover with tin foil
  • 4. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove tin foil
  • 5. Bake for another 10 minutes or until soft
  • 6. Squash the butternut and add it to a mixer
  • 7. Add flour, eggs, baking powder and salt to taste while the mixer is on medium speed
  • 8. Spoon mixture into hot cooking oil and cook until golden brown
  • 9. Drain on paper towels
  • 10. Enjoy with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar
For the lamb chops
  • 1. Make sure the lamb is at room temperature
  • 2. Finely chop the garlic and rosemary, and cover the lamb chops with the mixture on both sides
  • 3. Add salt and pepper to taste
  • 4. Grill on high heat until golden brown and cooked to your desired level
To finish
  • Plate the lamb chops and butternut fritters together and garnish with your preferred accompaniments. Vandeline uses pan-fried baby carrots, grilled sweet corn and a creamy carrot puree, drizzling with a red wine jus and garnishing with a sprig of rocket. Serve warm!

Samara Karoo Reserve is a leading conservation journey to restore 67,000 acres of South Africa’s Great Karoo landscape and beyond through rewilding and responsible tourism. Staying at one of Samara’s lodges acts as a direct contribution to this vision.

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