Lamb Cutlets with Walnut, Fig and Goat’s Cheese Salad

I was in the mood for lamb chops and Cathy found this wonderful recipe for Lamb Cutlets with Walnut, Fig and Goat’s Cheese Salad in Ottolenghi the Cookbook. We like almost all of his recipes. On our recent trip to London we got to eat at his restaurant: Nopi. It was excellent. We seem to be eating a lot of figs recently, but they are in season, so why not?

Lamb cutlets with walnut, fig and goat’s cheese salad

Ottolenghi the Cookbook

serves 4

12          lamb cutlets, French trimmed (you can ask your butcher to do this)

coarse sea salt and black pepper

Marinade

leaves from 6 thyme sprigs, roughly chopped
leaves from 1 rosemary sprig,     roughly chopped

2             garlic cloves, crushed

6             tbsp olive oil

Sauce

125ml    freshly squeezed orange juice

60ml      red wine vinegar

50g        honey

1             star anise

1             cinnamon stick

Salad

50g        walnuts, broken

100g      soft goat’s cheese, crumbled

20g        mint leaves

25g        flat-leaf parsley leaves

2             tbsp olive oil

4             fresh figs, halved or quartered

1.  First you need to marinate the lamb. Take the cutlets, throw the marinade ingredients on and massage them lightly into the meat. Place in a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2.  Now prepare the sauce. Place all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan, stir and put over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until reduced by two-thirds. Remove from the heat and keep somewhere warm.

3.  Place the walnuts in a non-stick frying pan and toast over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.

4.  To finish the dish, heat up a barbecue or griddle pan until piping hot. Season both sides of the lamb cutlets with salt and pepper. Place on the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side; this will give rare to medium meat. Cook longer if you prefer. Remove the lamb from the grill and leave to rest in a warm place for 2 minutes. While you wait, gently toss together all the salad ingredients, apart from the figs, seasoning with salt and pepper. Make sure the components stay separate and that the cheese doesn’t smear the leaves.

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5.  To serve, put the cutlets on serving plates, pile the salad next to the them and the figs alongside. Spoon a scant tablespoon of sauce over each portion of lamb and drizzle a small amount of it over the figs and salad. Serve at once.