lamb

sizzling lamb lollipops

servings
4

method

I came up with this recipe when I was in Wales, which produces some of the best lamb in the world. Ask your butcher for extra long lamb cutlets, untrimmed, so you have big Captain Caveman style chops to gnaw on. Marinate the lamb overnight if you can, to really intensify the flavours, which are inspired by the amazing Yemeni cooks I met in the old Tiger Bay community near the docks in Cardiff. Their community has been there for over 200 years, ever since the coal boom of the industrial revolution brought their ancestors to Wales. Their food hasn’t become famous in the same way other cuisines have. But it should have. It’s some of the most exciting food I’ve seen in a long time.

Pound the marinade spices, chillies and garlic to a paste using a pestle and mortar add a good pinch of salt and pepper, then muddle in just enough olive oil to make the mixture nice and loose. Get a roasting tray, put in the cutlets and rub the marinade all over them. Cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge, or to one side if you’re cooking right away.

Now get all your little dips ready. Put the nuts, sesame seeds, cumin and a pinch of salt into a dry frying pan and toast for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. Once golden, tip them into the mortar and pound up a few times until fine and crunchy, then pour them into a little bowl. Coarsely grate the cucumber on a box grater, then transfer it to a bowl, squeezing out any excess liquid. Finely chop the mint and add it to the bowl with the yoghurt, a good pinch of salt and pepper, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Stir, then put into a little bowl next to the toasted nuts.

Halve the tomatoes and rub each half, cut side down, on the finer side of the grater so you end up with a fresh tomato slurry. Discard the skins, then finely grate in half the chilli. Season with salt and pepper, stir in a squeeze of lemon juice, sprinkle over some coriander leaves, and crumble over a little feta. Have a taste, adjust if you want it a bit spicier, or saltier, then put it into a little bowl next to the other dips.

Heat a griddle pan on a high heat and cook the lamb cutlets for around 4 minutes on each side, standing them on their fatty sides for a minute or two extra to crisp up. Once they are sizzling and golden, they’re done. Pile them on a board, then get stuck in and encourage everyone to dunk the chops in the dips and some of the based up nuts. Lovely with flatbreads or rice.

ingredients

For the lamb and marinade
• 1 heaped teaspoon
coriander seeds
• 1 level teaspoon cumin seeds
• a generous pinch of turmeric
• 2 bird’s-eye chillies, stalks
removed, finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
and finely sliced
• sea salt and ground pepper
• olive oil
• 8 long lamb cutlets, not
trimmed, fatty side scored
For the spiced nuts
• 50g blanched almonds
• 50g shelled pistachios
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• a pinch of ground cumin

For the cucumber dip
• ½ a cucumber
• a handful of fresh mint leaves
• 100g natural yoghurt
• ½ a lemon

For the spicy tomato dip
• 2 large ripe tomatoes
• 1 fresh red chilli
• a few sprigs of fresh coriander
• a little feta cheese, for
crumbling over
• ½ a lemon

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1. by Kate on Mon 26 Dec 2011 @ 21:34

You have to try this recipe, we had it for our entree for Christmas lunch and it is SENSATIONAL! Right up our tastebud alley (hubby is Moroccan), the lamb was gorgeous, flavors spot on and a definite winner! Thanks Mr Oliver - yet again you ROCK! We will be making this one on a regular basis!!!

2. by Johnny Mannion on Thu 17 Nov 2011 @ 17:12

Hell yeah! MMM MMM MMM!

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