LUSCIOUS Garlic, Lime & Black Pepper Lamb Cutlets!

These lamb cutlets are SO delicious and SO easy! Dainty trimmed lamb chops are given a quick marinade and then grilled to achieve the perfect pink centre. Then it's a simple but incredibly delicious lime and black pepper seasoning on top. And that's it! These lamb cutlets will have you swooning.

Lamb cutlets are super easy to prepare and that is one of the reasons they are so popular. Pop them on the grill, bbq or pan fry them and they're done in a matter of minutes. I wanted to test out how these lamb chops would do with one of my favourite flavour combinations of lime and black pepper. They're one of my favourite potato chip varieties and I recently had lime and black pepper chicken wings which were divine. And great news, it works really beautifully on lamb. The lime gives the rich lamb a zesty, fresh quality.

What are lamb cutlets or chops? Lamb cutlets are one of the most tender, prized cuts of the lamb that come from the rib of the lamb and each rack of lamb ribs usually consists of 7 or 8 lamb chops or cutlets. The most typical way of serving these is to "French" the cutlet to expose the bone. It is the labour to do this and the desirability of this cut that makes it one of the most expensive cuts of lamb. And the most delicious too.

How To Cook Perfectly Pink Lamb Cutlets: Timing is crucial with lamb cutlets. The trade off for this pricey, tender cut is how quick they are to cook. They require 2 minutes only on each side to get a perfect blush pink centre. Watch the clock for these as they can easily overcook!

I absolutely loved how easy this meal was to cook because I am very short on time. We are in the middle of moving and quite honestly is a horrible experience. I would have happily paid someone to pack everything up for me, such is my loathing of the task. It doesn't help that I am very allergic to dust so I'm wearing a mask but it can get overwhelming and claustrophobic. I remember last time we moved to this apartment I said "That was horrible, never again!" and resigned myself to the idea that we would die in this apartment.

But thanks to you and your wonderful moving tips, it is easier this time. We started packing but then realised that we didn't have any floor space to place the boxes. The woman we had bought the place from had initially offered to let us bring boxes over ahead of time but when we asked her if we could she didn't remember that offer and rescinded it. We didn't know what to do. "Maybe we could park the car outside and stack boxes in our garage," suggested Mr NQN.

Then an idea came to me. "What if we rent a garage from someone in our building?". Not everyone has a car and sometimes we see occasionally will see a garage empty when the doors are open.

We have a direct neighbour that moved in last year. I don't know him very well but we always say hello and he's sort of shy but outside a lot because he smokes. His wife cooks the most amazing smelling food and it's so good that I complimented him on it. I took out a sheet of paper and decided to write him a note.

"Hi!

This is your neighbour in unit 7 (the one that really likes the smell of your cooking :)).

We are moving out soon and were wondering if you had an empty garage in which we can put some boxes in that we can rent from you for the next 2 weeks.

My number is XXX

Thanks!

Lorraine"

I slipped the note under his door. That evening my neighbour Abdulla messaged me. He was happy to let us use his garage and wouldn't take any money for it. I was blown away by his kindness. I had completely expected to pay for it but he wouldn't accept it. Shortly after he dropped his garage key in the letterbox. And with this gesture he helped us out enormously and made the whole process easier and lifted a great weight off us. It's a shame to be leaving when we have finally found some nice neighbours! We sent them a gift because I believe that is the natural order of the universe when someone does something nice for you.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like lamb cutlets? And do you get on with your direct neighbours?

Lime & Black Pepper Lamb Cutlets

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 5 minutes plus 1 hour marinating time

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

• 12 lamb cutlets or chops, trimmed of fat
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoons salt plus extra to finish
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• Freshly grated black pepper

Step 1 - In a bowl mix the garlic slices, olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt together to form a marinade. Place the lamb chops and this mixture in a bag and marinate for 1 hour in the fridge. Take the lamb out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to cook them to allow them to come to temperature.

Step 2 -Heat the frypan or grill pan to high heat (8 out of 10) and add a little oil just to get it started. Place lamb cutlets one side down (remove the garlic if any bits stick but reserve the garlic) and fry for 2 minutes then turn over and cook the other side for 2 minutes. This will get you perfectly pink lamb inside. If you like it more well-done, cook the second half for 3-4 minutes. Then add the remaining garlic slices from the bag and fry them until lightly golden. Remove from heat.

Step 3 -Place on a tray and generously grate lime zest on top of the cutlets. Then add plenty of cracked black pepper and add salt and garlic chips. Serve with salad.