Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Chive and Parmesan Crumbed Lamb Cutlets


It's the middle of the week, and as I mentioned yesterday I've just started a new job. Anything that can make life simple and delicious on a Wednesday night in such circumstances is alright by me. Enter these bad-boys. They may not be pretty, but they pack a tasty punch and are super quick to whip up and serve with a little salad.
Before I go on with the recipe though, I want to talk to you about making your own crumbs. Do it. The beauty of making your own crumbs is that you control the texture, and you know they're fresh. Plus, I just freeze the ends of every loaf of bread that I buy and lightly toast a couple of slices when I need crumbs. This handy tip = free breadcrumbs! My crumbing tool of choice is my mini food processor, officially my most well-used kitchen appliance! Making the crumbs for this recipe was easy - I just tossed all the ingredients in the processor and held the little button down. And look:

Rustic, pretty home-made crumbs! You can still totally make this recipe with store-bought crumbs, it just requires a bit of fine chopping. But I'd still eat it, if you served it to me. Even if your chopping wasn't up to scratch. I'm a terrible chopper.

Anyway, I feel like I've diverted enough. Read on for the recipe!

Chive and Parmesan Crumbed Lamb Cutlets

Ingredients:
10 lamb cutlets
1/2 cup plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 slices bread, torn into chunks (pref not anything with whole grains in it)
Handful of chives, roughly chopped
1/4 cup parmesan

1. To make crumb coating: Combine bread, chives and parmesan in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
2. Put flour on a plate. Place egg in a shallow dish. Spread crumbs on a plate.
3. Crumb the cutlets by covering them with flour, dipping them in the egg, then coating with crumbs. Press the crumbs lightly onto the cutlets to ensure they stay put.
4. Refrigerate cutlets for at least 30 minutes.
5. Heat approx 2cm vegetable oil in a flat pan on medium heat (see note). When oil is hot, cook lamb cutlets (approx 3-4 mins each side or until cooked through).
6. Serve with salad.

My notes:
- Your oil must be at a good heat. If it's spitting, it's too hot and your crumb coating will burn and your cutlets will stay kinda raw. If it doesn't even sizzle when you drop your cutlets in, take them outtttt and let the pan heat up some more, or the cutlets will end up oily and soggy.
- For prettier cutlets than mine, strip all the meat and fat off the part of the bone that you hold. They'll look much daintier. I'm just lazy. Like I said, it's the middle of a big week!

Hope you enjoy this simple and tasty dinner!

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