Spanish-style lamb cutlets with rosemary, garlic and roast peppers

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 8 lamb cutlets
• 3 red peppers
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves finely chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Roast the peppers

Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Put the peppers on a baking tray and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once or twice, until blistered and blackened in places. Transfer them to a bowl and cover with a plate or clean tea towel for 10 minutes. This helps loosen the skins and saves you a bit of needless struggle later.

2. Make the marinade

In a bowl, mix 1½ tbsp of the olive oil with the garlic, rosemary, smoked paprika, lemon zest, lemon juice, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Add the lamb cutlets and coat them well, then leave them for 20 minutes if you have the time. Longer will not hurt either.

3. Peel and slice the peppers

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel away the skins, remove the seeds and slice them into thick strips. Put them into a bowl with the remaining olive oil and a small pinch of salt. They should be soft, sweet and already smelling like they know what they are doing.

4. Cook the lamb

Heat a frying pan or griddle pan over a medium-high heat. Cook the lamb cutlets for 2–3 minutes on each side for pink, or a little longer if you prefer them more done. You want a good bit of colour on the outside without cooking them into submission.

5. Rest and finish

Transfer the cutlets to a plate and leave them to rest for 5 minutes. Add the parsley to the peppers and toss gently. Taste and adjust with a little more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed.

6. Serve

Arrange the lamb cutlets on a platter or plates and spoon the roast peppers alongside or over the top. Serve straight away with potatoes, bread or a simple salad, and make sure none of the resting juices go to waste.

A couple of helpful notes

- Lamb cutlets are best cooked quickly over fairly high heat, so get the pan properly hot before they go in.
- If you want a little more warmth, a pinch of chilli flakes in with the peppers works very nicely.
- This also works well on the barbecue, especially if the weather is pretending to cooperate.