Spiced Lamb Cutlets with Yoghurty Cabbage

These cutlets came about from my very good friends who live on a farm in Ando (about an hour south of Cooma). I left my annual visit with an esky full to the brim of their lamb including a bag of cutlets — lush! The addition of cumin and coriander to the crumb add a little flare to the classic dish and it all goes very nicely with the zingy, yoghurty cabbage slaw (which is part salad, part sauce for the cutlets). I understand that adding Meredith Dairy goat’s cheese oil is a touch niche, but it’s so yum and should never go to waste. You can use a marinating oil from a bunch of things or just a great olive oil will do the trick as well. As always, mix it up how you’d like and with whatever you’ve got on hand. Pick them up with two hands and enjoy!

For the cutlets

8 lamb cutlets
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 cup plain flour
1 egg

For the salad

1 big dollop of yoghurt
A big squeeze of ½ a lemon
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil (or if you’ve got it, use the marinating oil from a jar of Merideth Dairy goat’s cheese)
4 guindilla peppers
Salt and pepper
1 stalk of celery
1 green apple
Handful of green pitted olives
Handful of mint

Make it

First, crush the coriander and cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle and set aside. For the crumbing, you’ll need three bowls: one with 1 cup of plain four (seasoned with salt and pepper), one with a beaten egg (loosened with 2 tbsp of water and a sprinkle of salt), and one with breadcrumbs spiked with your cumin and coriander seeds.

Dip each cutlet into the flour, then the egg and lastly into the breadcrumbs (smooshing them on as much as you can — I use old sourdough blitzed up as breadcrumbs so they can be a little harder to convince to stick, but you can use whatever crumbs you like).

Add enough vegetable oil into a 26cm frypan so it’s about 5mm deep and heat on medium-high till a test breadcrumb starts sizzling. Fry four at a time on medium heat till the outside is golden and the inside is blushing — it should take around 3 mins on each side at medium heat, but it'll depend on the thickness of your cutlets. You can use a metal spoon to gently splash the oil onto any parts that need a little extra browning while it cooks in the pan. Rest it on a paper towel and sprinkle liberally with salt.

For the yoghurty cabbage, you’ll need a large bowl and a mandoline. Spoon the yoghurt straight from the tub into the large bowl, followed by a big squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle in the oil and then give it a good mix. Place your mandoline straight on top of your bowl and finely slice in the cabbage, followed by the apple and the celery, all about 1mm thick. Slice the olives in half, chop your guindillas, pick the mint leaves and toss it all together.