Grilled lamb cutlets with chickpea and feta dressing
Lamb and feta work perfectly together in this easy, yet impressive dinner recipe.
Ingredients
For the lamb cutlets
- 200g/7oz plain yoghurt
- 20ml/¾fl oz olive oil
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp finely chopped garlic
- 4 lamb cutlets, fat left on (do not French trim the bones)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the aubergine fritters
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 90g/3¼oz rice flour or chickpea flour
- pinch ground turmeric
- pinch ground cumin
- pinch smoked paprika
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp roughly chopped coriander leaves
- 1 aubergine, cut into thin rounds
For the lettuce
- 1 Little Gem lettuce, outer leaves and centres separated
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the chickpea and feta dressing
- 30g/1oz red onion, finely chopped
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú green olives, sliced
- 70g/2½oz tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú spring onions, sliced
- 1½ tsp red chilli, sliced with seeds
- 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 60²µ/2¼´Ç³ú feta, diced
- 5 small cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tsp fresh flatleaf parsley leaves
- 15 small fresh mint leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the lamb cutlets, mix the yoghurt, oil, mustard, spices and garlic together in a wide bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb cutlets in the bowl and coat thoroughly in the mixture. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
To make the aubergine fritters, preheat a deep fat fryer to 180C. Mix the flours, spices, salt and coriander with 170ml/6fl oz of cold water in a large bowl to make a smooth batter. Dust the aubergine in plain flour and then dip into the batter until well coated. Allow any excess batter to drip off and then deep fry for about 2–3 minutes until golden. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain.
Meanwhile, grill the lamb cutlets on a hot griddle pan for about 7 minutes, turning halfway through, or until cooked to your liking. Leave the griddle pan over the heat.
To make the lettuce, cut the leaves in half and cut the centres in half vertically. Rinse in cold water and dry thoroughly. Cook the centres on the hot griddle pan for a few seconds and set aside. Drizzle the leaves with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill lightly on the hot griddle pan until lightly charred.
To make the chickpea and feta dressing, mix all the ingredients together except the parsley and mint and season with salt and pepper. Add the herbs into the dressing just before serving.
Place the cutlets, fritters and lettuce on warmed plates and spoon over the dressing. Serve immediately.