Although not an instant dinner, this is nonetheless simple and speedy to make. You do need to marinate the lamb for 30 minutes or so, but you can pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy it, then whizz up the mint sauce in the meantime.
Speaking of which, this is a simple, spontaneous reworking of the old-fashioned vinegary mint sauce my mother used to make, using ingredients from my kitchen now. Namely, I saw two preserved lemons left bobbing hopefully about in their jar, and thought this would be an excellent opportunity to use them up. It was: the preserved lemons’ intense and scented sourness counters and enhances the mint perfectly.
— Nigella Lawson
• ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith and Nigella talk about this recipe, and others from Nigella’s book, on The Faith Middleton Food Schmooze®. •
Excerpted from the book AT MY TABLE by Nigella Lawson. © 2018 by Nigella Lawson. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Jonathan Lovekin.
- 8 French-trimmed lamb rib chops
- 7 tablespoons Regular olive oil
- 1 lemon finely grated zest and juice
- 2 teaspoons dried mint
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt flakes or kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh mint leaves from a medium bunch
- 1 fat clove garlic peeled and sliced into 3
- 2 small preserved lemons, quartered plus 2 tablespoons of juice from the jar
- 1/2 cup Regular olive oil
- Leaves of your choice (I’m keen on pea shoots here)
- Put the lamb rib chops into a resealable plastic bag and add the olive oil, finely grated zest and juice of the lemon, dried mint, red pepper flakes, salt, and minced garlic. Seal the bag and give a good squidge before marinating for 30–40 minutes, long enough for them to come to room temperature.
- To make the sauce, put the mint, garlic, preserved lemons and juice, and half the oil into a bowl and patiently blitz with an immersion blender. When most of the leaves have been incorporated, pour in the remaining oil and blitz again, until you have a deep emerald, emulsified sauce. Taste to see if you want to add salt, though I find the preserved lemons give all the salinity you need, and I am an enthusiastic salter.
- Heat a grill pan (my preference) or heavy-based frying pan, then lift the cutlets out of the marinade and cook them over a high heat – if you want them a little pink – for 2 minutes each side. But check and cook longer as needed.
- Arrange the lamb cutlets on a plate, lined with the greenery of your choice. Serve with the fragrant, sharp mint sauce, drizzling some on the cutlets too, if you so wish.
