Lamb Chops with Coriander Potatoes and Mediterranean Salad

It is nearing end of June, which in the UK at least means Summer has officially arrived, but sadly the grey skies and all the rain really don’t make it feel like that… However get sunshine on a plate instead with lamb cutlets, a fresh summer salad and loads of herbs! I find lamb cutlets such a great cut of meat as they are extremely flavourful and don’t need much effort to turn them into a fantastic dish. Here I’ve seasoned them simply with cumin, salt and pepper and really, I don’t feel they need much else. You can cook them on the barbecue, under the grill or simply pan fry them (as I have done here).

Keeping things classic, but staying with the Mediterranean theme, on the side I serve potatoes. The ones I make here are known in Arabic as “Batata Harra”, translated as “Spicy Potatoes”. So called because the addition of garlic gives them a little kick. You can always order them in Lebanese restaurants and they are often eaten as a starter. However I really like them as an accompaniment to meat, the coriander and garlic really works well with the lamb here.

As both of those elements are a little on the heavy side, I chose to serve them with a fresh, crunchy, salty salad with a lemon dressing. The acidity perfectly balances out the meat and potatoes. The fresh parsley really adds to this salad so don’t skip it!

The only tricky thing here is to know how much lamb to cook. Being half Lebanese I always err on the side of caution. If you have small lamb cutlets I would most likely serve at least 3 per person but of course that depends on you and your guests hunger and appetite!

Note:

You might be surprised that the cucumber is being de-seeded. However the reason for this is to make sure the salad is super crunchy and does not become soggy (the cucumber centre is quite watery). Just trust me on this…

They key for stress free cooking here is:

• Peel and cut the potatoes first and set them aside in a bowl of water which will prevent them from going brown (potatoes tend to oxidise when you leave them outside in the air making them a lot less attractive). You can do this several hours before. Make sure you drain and dry the potatoes well before frying, otherwise the water on the potatoes will make the hot oil spit!
• Make the salad and the dressing first, then set them aside and mix the two together just before serving. You can easily do this 1-2 hours before.

Recipe

Prep time: 20-30 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients (Serves 4):

For the salad:

200g feta cheese, cut into approx. 1cm cubes

300g cherry tomatoes or baby plum tomatoes, halved

Half a cucumber

Small bunch parsley,  leaves only, coarsely chopped

100g olives

Juice of 1 lemon

50ml tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Potatoes:

1 bunch coriander, leaves and thin stalks finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 medium sized potatoes (approx. 500g)

2 tablespoons olive oil

neutral oil for frying potatoes

For the lamb:

8-12 lamb cutlets, depending on size of lamb and hunger of guests!

1 teaspoon ground cumin

oil to brush the lamb

salt & pepper

Method:

• Halve the cucumber lengthwise and using a spoon, carefully scoop out the seeds and discard. Then slice the cucumber halves into 0.5 cm wide pieces. Toss all the salad ingredients together in a bowl. In a small separate bowl whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together, season with pepper. Set both aside
• Peel the potatoes and cut into 1cm cubes. If you are preparing them early, place the cubes in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
• Rub the lamb cutlets with cumin and season with salt and pepper. Lightly brush them with oil.
• Heat a large, deep frying pan on medium heat. This is for frying the potatoes. If you don’t have a deep frying pan use a large pot. Fill this with approximately 2 cm deep oil.
• While the oil is heating, heat a griddle or normal pan until hot, on medium high heat. This is for cooking the lamb. Fry the lamb for about 3-4 minutes on each side. However, cooking time will depend on how thick the lamb cutlets are, so you may need to adjust the cooking time slightly. If your lamb is quite fatty, make sure to sear the fatty part of the cutlet as well so it is golden. Pile the lamb on a plate and wrap tightly with aluminium foil to keep the warm while you cook the potatoes.
• Your oil for the potatoes should be hot now. When you throw in one of the potato cubes the oil should sizzle, then you know its hot. Fry the potatoes. Depending on the size of the pan you may need to do this in batches. Essentially you want one layer of potatoes only, otherwise they will not turn crispy and golden. Drain the cooked potatoes on some kitchen towels, then place in a bowl.
• In a small frying pan heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the coriander and garlic and fry until fragrant. Then toss with the potatoes and season with salt.
• Finally, combine the salad with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper if required (however I find that most feta cheese is so salty that this doesn’t require any additional salt).
• Serve and Bon Appetit!