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Lamb chops with chilli & Ligurian broad bean pesto

Lamb chops with chilli & Ligurian broad bean pesto served on a plate

Lamb chops with chilli & Ligurian broad bean pesto

Name: Lamb chops with chilli & Ligurian broad bean pesto
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 12 lamb cutlets, the bones well scraped so they’re neat (you can ask your butcher to do this for you); 3 tbsp olive oil; ½ lemon juiced, plus wedges to serve; 6 tsp chilli flakes (use less if you prefer less heat); 400g broad beans (podded weight, about 1.4kg unpodded); 2 garlic cloves chopped; 8 mint sprigs, leaves picked and torn, plus extra to serve; 8 anchovy fillets, chopped; ½ small fennel bulb; 120-150ml extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tbsp and extra to serve; 2 tbsp pecorino grated; ½ lemon juiced or to taste

Diana Henry

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Serves 6

More effort

Prep: 40 mins

Cook: 20 mins

plus a few hrs marinating

A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.6 ratingsRate

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Impress dinner guests with these lightly spiced lamb chops served on a bed of broad bean pesto. Serve with fennel fronds, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon

Gluten-free

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

12 lamb

cutlets, the bones well scraped so they’re neat (you can ask your butcher to do this for you)
3 tbsp olive oil
½ lemon

juiced, plus wedges to serve
6 tsp chilli

flakes (use less if you prefer less heat)

For the pesto

400g broad beans

(podded weight, about 1.4kg unpodded)
2 garlic cloves

chopped
8 mint

sprigs, leaves picked and torn, plus extra to serve
8 anchovy

fillets, chopped
½ small fennel bulb
120-150ml extra virgin olive oil

plus 2 tbsp and extra to serve
2 tbsp pecorino

grated
½ lemon

juiced or to taste

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Nutrition: Per serving

kcal681
fat58g
saturates19g
carbs5g
sugars1g
fibre6g
protein31g
salt1.3g

Method

step 1

Put the chops in a large bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, chilli and some black pepper. Turn them with your hands, cover and put in the fridge to marinate for a few hours.
step 2

Shell the broad beans and cook them in boiling water for 2-3 mins until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Slip each bean out of its skin, put them in the bowl of a food processor and add the garlic, mint and anchovy fillets. Remove any fronds from the fennel and set them aside with the tips. Take off any coarse outer layer, split the fennel in half and remove the hard core from each piece. Discard these. Chop the flesh and the reserved fennel trimmings. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a small frying pan and fry the fennel flesh gently for 10 mins until soft.
step 3

Tip the fennel into the food processor along with the cheese and a little seasoning. Blitz to a purée while pouring in 120ml of the olive oil. Taste and add the lemon juice. You might find you want a bit more olive oil as well, or a little water to produce a thinner consistency. Remember to season again if you add water. Scrape the purée into a bowl and keep covered in the fridge until you’re ready to serve, but let it come to room temperature before you cook the chops.
step 4

Take the chops out of the fridge and bring to room temperature. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Lift the chops out of the marinade and, when the pan is really hot, cook until well coloured on each side, seasoning as you go. Press the meaty bit down so that they get good griddle marks. The chops should be pink in the middle when you serve them – they only take 1½ mins on each side as they’re so small. Do this in batches if you need to.
step 5

Serve the chops on top of the purée with some mint scattered over, any reserved fennel fonds, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some lemon wedges on the side.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2019

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A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.6 ratings

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