Nigel Slater’s kitchen diary: grilled lamb cutlets with sumac, feta and grapes

I grilled a batch of lamb cutlets this week, holding their rim of golden fat to the hot griddle with the kitchen tongs, the fire alarm applauding loudly. Few things will bring me to the table more quickly than the smell of grilled lamb, thyme and smoke, but this had a hint of fruitiness to it – the slightly sour, citrus notes of sumac.

Lamb welcomes a snap of sourness. I often find myself looking for a lemon when I sit down to eat grilled cutlets. The juice of pomegranates will make a chop sing, as will the much-sneered-at mint sauce (whose vinegar and mint notes I rather like). Yoghurt is a contender, too; I tend to use a sheep’s variety, to make the lamb feel at home, though any yoghurt will do, as will kefir. Sometimes I put a handful of grated cucumber and some chopped mint leaves into a puddle of kefir to serve with a roast fillet of lamb.

This week, I chucked a few grapes on the griddle while the lamb was resting. They worked a treat with the golden fat of the cutlets. Adding them to an accompanying spinach salad would have been an alternative.

Salads are getting exciting again. Spring onions barely thicker than a straw, tomatoes the size of beads and those first early radishes are going into the salad bowl, with the smallest of kale leaves and the early lettuces, their leaves tinged with deep red. To celebrate spring, most of the dressings I have made recently are with herb oils. Basil and mint are particularly suited to sunny weather. The dressing of the week has involved nothing more than olive oil, basil and a shot of lemon juice. It works its green magic with a salad of pea shoots and cucumber.

Feeling chocolatey the other day, I melted some white chocolate (in a china bowl over simmering water), then poured it on to a sheet of baking parchment. With the chocolate still liquid, I scattered over some finely chopped pistachios, a dusting of crushed, dried raspberries and a few dried rose petals. Left to set until crisp, then smashed into small shards, it was fun, and kept perfectly for a few days in an airtight tin.

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I came home with a punnet of strawberries this week, but in all fairness they did smell better than they tasted. They were rescued by slicing each berry in half, marinating them overnight with the juice and seeds of 4 passion fruits and a couple of tbsp of caster sugar. A few of drops of balsamic vinegar mellowed the slightly acidic fruit almost as effectively as a week in the sun. We tipped them and their marinade over chilled rice pudding, and the result was quite wonderful.

Lamb cutlets with sumac, feta and grapes

Serves 4. Ready in 45 minutes.

If you have time, leave the cutlets in the olive oil, thyme and sumac for a good hour or more. I find it best to leave them at cool room temperature. You could cook them under an overhead grill if you prefer, though I like it when the meat touches the hot ridges of a grill pan or ridged griddle, adding a distinctly smoky note to the meat and its fat. You can use more or less sumac as you wish (or, of course, none at all).

I have also made this recipe with chicken thighs, the central bone removed and the flesh batted out a bit with a rolling pin (for want of a cutlet bat). As an accompaniment I suggest a leafy salad and perhaps some potatoes, roughly chopped and boiled briefly, then fried in a shallow pan with chopped garlic, finely chopped rosemary and a coarse grinding of black pepper.

lamb cutlets 8
thyme leaves 2 tsp
olive oil 3 tbsp
sumac 2 tsp, ground
feta cheese 250g
sheep’s yoghurt 200ml
mint leaves 5g
blood orange 1
black grapes 150g

Put the lamb cutlets on a baking sheet or plate. Chop the thyme leaves, then stir into 2 tbsp of olive oil with salt, ground black pepper and the sumac. Brush the lamb with the seasoned oil, then leave for an hour or so at room temperature.

Crumble the feta into a mixing bowl. Stir in the yoghurt. Finely chop the mint leaves and mix with the feta and yoghurt, stirring in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Set aside somewhere cold. Using a large, very sharp knife, remove the peel from the orange, cutting away all the bitter white pith. Cut the fruit into thin slices and set aside.

Warm a griddle pan over a high heat. (Switch the extractor on high!) Place the lamb cutlets on the griddle and let them cook for a few minutes until the fat is golden. Turn the lamb over, brush with more tsp of the oil and add a few extra thyme sprigs if you have them. Continue cooking until the lamb is as you like it.

While the lamb cooks, cut the grapes in half and take out any pips. Remove the lamb to a warm place to rest. Put the halved grapes on to the grill and leave them to warm and soften in the hot lamb fat.

Spoon the chilled, minted feta on to a serving plate. Place the lamb on top, together with the orange and the warmed grapes.