This dish is another instalment in my Complete Paleo Meals series. It’s inspired by Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours and is very moreish; it had me licking my fingers through the whole meal. Succulent lamb cutlets, which are marinated in warm spices ahead of time and grilled to perfection, are paired with baba ganoush inspired eggplant purée and a refreshing tomato, onion and olive salad. Want some bursting flavours in your mouth – cook this!
Variations
For AIP folk or for those avoiding nightshades, I suggest replacing the eggplant purée with cauliflower or sweet potato puree instead. Tomatoes in the salad can be replaced with fresh cucumber and radish. Beefsteak or lamb steak are also great alternatives to lamb cutlets.
Cook’s notes
I fried the lamb cutlets using Heston Blumenthal’s method, which involves turning the meat over frequently rather than cooking it on each side for equal amount of time and turning only once. This distributes the heat more evenly making sure you have a well cooked, yet juicy tender centre. Resting the meat for half its cooking time is essential to trap all the juices in and keep the meat moist. Feel free to cook the lamb cutlets for 4 minutes each side, if you don’t have the time to tend to them as frequently as I did.
Learn more about Heston’s method in my post on cooking the perfect steak.
Spiced Lamb Cutlets with Eggplant Puree & Tomato Olive Salad
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Category: Main
Description
You can make the eggplant purée ahead of time. It’s pretty much the same as making a baba ganush, so you can use any leftovers as a dip with veggie sticks.
Ingredients
For eggplant purée
- 1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthways
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tahini paste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, roughly diced
- 2/3 teaspoons sea salt
- Pinch of cracked pepper
For the lamb cutlets
- 8–10 French-trimmed lamb cutlets
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet or mild paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Pinch of cracked pepper
For tomato & olive salad
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups), cut in halves
- 6–7 Kalamata olives cut in quarters
- 1/2 small Spanish onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- To make the eggplant purée: Heat the oven to 180 C / 375 F and bake the eggplant, drizzled with olive oil, for 45 minutes or until crispy and dark golden brown. It should be soft on the side. Cool the eggplant until okay to handle, and remove the outer skin only. You can leave the skin on as well, it will simply result in a more course puree texture. Still delicious! Cut the eggplant roughly and place in a food processor with garlic, tahini, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a little drizzle of olive oil (about a tablespoon). Purée until smooth.
- To make the cutlets: Mix the spices, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and rub all over the lamb cutlets. Marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature. If marinating overnight in the fridge, bring to meat room temperature before cooking (about 15-20 minutes).
- Heat a large frying pan or a grill to medium-high and fry the lamb cutlets for four minutes on each side, however, turn the cutlets every 30-40 seconds, instead of just once.
- Assemble the salad:Mix all salad ingredients in a bowl. Serve with lamb cutlets and eggplant purée.
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Related: Are Olives Good For You?
This was absolutely delicious! My partner was almost licking the plate clean! The only thing I added was a light yoghurt dressing with lemon juice, fresh mint, garlic and tabasco. The whole dish was so full of flavour and extremely easy to make. Thank you Irley :o) Loving the website for inspiration every day