Recipe: Lamb chops and houmous

Shamelessly simple

I felt a little uncertain about writing this for two reasons. Firstly, it’s scarcely a recipe, it’s so simple. Secondly, I’ve been so overtly inspired by a recipe in Nigel Slater’s wonderful A Cook’s Book that it feels inappropriate to claim this non-recipe as my own anyway.

But still, I’ve kept coming back to it because I still remember the first time I followed Slater’s steps and fell for it — hard. This is essentially glammed up boy dinner, a few hunks of meat and something to dip them into, legitimised by the thin veneer of the ‘Mediterranean diet’.

But it’s bloody great, takes less than five minutes from beginning to end, and if you use good lamb it still feels faintly luxurious.

I’ve used lamb loin chops I found on a recent trip to Smithfields meat market, but don’t feel limited. Slater suggests cutlets, and larger chops or steaks would work great too. I once made this with loose lamb ribs from our local Turkish supermarket, which crisp up phenomenally and are even better for dipping and smearing in the houmous.

If you like to make your own houmous then don’t let me stop you. But I’m usually far too lazy to, and instead follow Slater in simply zhuzhing up the supermarket stuff. I usually use za’atar, but if you can’t find it then don’t stress — black pepper, cumin, a pinch of chilli, or fresh parsley will all do the job equally well.

This is honestly a meal in itself, but if it doesn’t feel that way then pair it with some warm bread to mop up any stray lamb juices. A green salad would also work well, or steamed greens stirred through with a little yoghurt.