Coffee, cardamom and chipotle-rubbed lamb chops
Coffee isn’t the first thing you think of when marinating meats, but the combination of fragrant cardamom, bitter coffee and smoky chipotle chillies complement each other really nicely, and the coffee itself acts as a tenderiser, as well as a flavour enhancer. This recipe is easy to double or triple up on amounts if needed. If serving it Bahraini style, then the lamb with some sort of flatbread (like tanour) is dinner, but I prefer to serve this with something fresh and crunchy like springtime fattoush.
This recipe is an extract from Lugma: Abundant Dishes And Stories From My Middle East by Noor Murad (Quadrille).
Recipe information
Yield
4
Ingredients
For the rub
For the sumac onions
Preparation
Step 1
Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a medium bowl. Pat the lamb well dry on paper towels and season all over with ¾ teaspoon salt. Coat well with the rub, then leave to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerated for up to 3 hours (but not much longer).
Step 2
Make the onions by placing all the ingredients in a bowl with a pinch of salt and using your fingers to massage everything together. Set aside to pickle gently while the lamb is marinating (you can do this hours ahead).
Step 3
If you’ve refrigerated the lamb, be sure to bring it back up to room temperature before cooking. When ready, place a large cast-iron sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Toss the lamb with the oil. Once the pan is hot, cook the cutlets for 2–3 minutes on each side, for medium-rare. Adjust the cook time if you prefer your cutlets more or less well done (or if they’re smaller or larger in size). Arrange them on a serving plate and pour over all but a couple teaspoons of the fat left in the pan, then squeeze over the ½ lemon.
Step 4
Return the pan to a medium-high heat with the spring onions, chilli and a tiny pinch of salt and cook for about 3 minutes, flipping over as necessary, until softened and lightly browned. Pile the spring onions onto one side of the serving plate with the whole green chilli alongside. Top the cutlets with the sumac onions and serve right away.
