Lamb Chops with Fried Mint and Summer Vegetables
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Nothing could be more English than a lamb chop especially when it is served with asparagus, new potatoes and the first peas, broad beans and young carrots. I have just discovered this way of deep frying battered herb leaves – it’s delicious. Try cooking lovage and sage leaves for pork recipes. Serves 4.
- 4-6 lamb chops
- A little oil for brushing
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- A handful of mint sprigs
Vegetables:
(choose any combination or just one or two)
- New potatoes
- Asparagus, trimmed
- Broad beans, shelled
- Carrots
- Butter
For the Batter:
- 4 tablespoon of cold water
- 25g (1oz) plain flour
- 25g (1oz) cornflour
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat about 8cm of oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to about 170C or so that a piece of bread turns golden brown in it in 1-2 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the batter with a whisk. Dip the mint sprigs in the batter and deep fry for about 2 minutes until crisp, but not colouring too much, moving them around while they are cooking with a slotted spoon. Remove from the fat, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt. Meanwhile, brush the chops with oil and season with pepper. Grill them until they are a rich brown colour, turning them often so that they cook and brown evenly. How long they will need depends on their thickness, a thick chop, about 15 minutes. Season with salt. Cook the vegetables and generously toss in butter. Serve the chops with the cooked vegetables and crispy mint leaves.