Dukkah Crusted Lamb Cutlets with Roasted Veg and Eggplant Dip
Serves: 3
Time: 40 minutes
Adding dukkah to meat is a super easy way to totally transform the norm into something scrumptiously good with a minimal amount of effort, I find dukkah tastes great on most meats but it really suits lamb. You could easily have this dish without the eggplant puree but I reckon the eggplant just takes it to the next level in flavour.
Leftovers
Because I have used a whole rack of lamb we had a couple of cutlets spare to go to lunch but the leftover veggies will be just as good on their own if you don’t have any meat left over.
Check for Specials
It was my intention to get lamb cutlets but they had whole lamb racks on sale at Harris Farm for $23 a kilo which is an absolute bargain especially when you compare that against the cost of cutlets.When comparing, don't just check the price, also check against the cost per kilo because cutlets can often be up around $79 a kilo which is why you pay $24 for 3. I went with a smaller rack, so the whole thing was just over 1 kilo which made it $26. With expensive cuts, it pays to check the specials.
What you'll need
1 rack of lamb or 8 cutlets
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
1 large egg plant
2 bunches of broccolini
1/2 packet baby tuscan kale or baby rocket
2 tablespoons pistachio dukkah
1/2 bunch of mint
From the Pantry
1 tablespoon of tahini
olive oil
salt and pepper
Prep and Cook
Preheat Oven to 200c
Take Lamb Out Of The Fridge
Cook Eggplant
Slice the eggplant in half lengthways and score the flesh about 1/4 deep.
Drizzle generously with oil and season well, place on a small oven tray with the flesh side up and pop into the oven on a low shelf to cook for 30 minutes or until completely soft.
Roast Sweet Potatoes
Leave the skins on but brush off any dirt, then slice into circles about half the thickness of your finger.
Toss with oil and salt and pepper and spread out on an oven tray lined with baking paper. (I cook everything on baking paper but that’s just because I like the minimal effort involved in the cleanup; it’s not essential).
Place in the oven above the eggplant and cook for 40 minutes.
Prep Broccolini
Cut the woody ends off the broccolini and toss in oil with salt and pepper (use the same bowl as the sweet potato).
Spread out on a tray lined with baking paper. If your oven can handle 3 trays then go ahead and pop the broccolini in for 12 minutes but mine doesn’t, so I’ll wait for the eggplant to come out because there is a lot of moisture in all these veg and I want a crunchy roast, not a sweaty mess.
Prep Lamb
Skip to the next stage if you have cutlets
I love doing my own butchering, so if you are using a rack that has the “cap on” (the fat still completely covering the meat, not the bones) then start by peeling that fat off. You can do this easily with your hands - one end will be slightly smaller - this is the end you start at. At first it will just come away nice and clean revealing what is called the silver skin. This looks shiny but is in fact sinew. Then halfway along you will feel that fat start to grip, here is where you want to use a knife to slice off that large piece of fat that is no longer connected. Use your knife to then trim off the fat from the remaining end, just deep enough till you see meat (if you keep peeling it away in one go, you will pull off a smaller muscle of meat that is super delicious and helps the whole rack to cook evenly).
Next, you need to remove the sinew, so use a very sharp knife and make a small incision at one end then carefully slide your knife in and under the sinew. Use one hand to pull the sinew tight and simply glide your knife along the underside. Stop where the sinew disappears under the meat.
Now looking at your rack you will notice that at one end the bones are smaller and closer together (this will be different depending on which side of the ribs you have).
Count in two ribs from the small end and then run your knife down along that bone all the way through the meat.
Do this twice more so you have three double bone cutlets.
Then after that you can just slice down one cutlet bone at a time; this way you will have nice big fat even portions.
Coat Lamb
Empty half the dukkah out onto a plate and dip all sides of the meat so that the cutlets are nicely coated.
Heat a large frypan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a medium to high heat.
Once the pan is hot, place all the cutlets in the pan bone side down and cook for two minutes.
Then turn onto the meat and cook one side for two minutes.
Turn onto the other meat side for a further two minutes.
Then lastly turn onto the butt side and cook for 1 minute. Leave the meat in the pan but take off the heat and allow to rest.
Puree Eggplant
Scoop the flesh out from your eggplant and pop into a food processor with 1 tablespoon of tahini and some salt and pepper.
Blitz till smooth.
Use a spatula to scrape out all the puree and spread across 1/3 of the serving platter.
Pile all the roasted sweet potato across 1/3 of the platter then scatter the roasted broccolini and baby kale across the eggplant puree and remaining empty space.
Scatter across mint leaves and top with lamb cutlets
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
I will only eat 1 cutlet for dinner because I’m just not that big a fan of meat these days and my toddler will only do 1 cutlet. So dad gets lucky with this meal and has plenty for leftovers, but if you have no meat left then bulk out your remaining veg with the rest of your kale or rocket. Add some nuts and seeds for a tasty salad. Feta would also compliment this well.