Lamb cutlets, broad beans, sour cream

Photo / Jonathan Lovekin

Ingredients

2	medium onions
3 Tbsp	olive oil
600g	broad beans (weight including pods) or 300g frozen
6-8	lamb cutlets
2 tsp	thyme leaves
1 clove	garlic, peeled and crushed
100ml	sour cream
handful	parsley

Directions

1. Peel the onions and slice thinly into rings. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, then fry the onions over a low heat for about 20–25 minutes. Stir them regularly, until they are soft, translucent and pale gold in colour.
2. Bring a medium-sized pan of water to the boil. While the onions are cooking, pod the broad beans, then cook them in the boiling water for about 7 minutes, depending on their size. Check them for tenderness, then drain. Pop the beans from their papery skins. I really think this is one time you shouldn't skip this.
3. Warm a grill or griddle pan. Lightly oil the lamb cutlets and season with salt, pepper, the thyme and garlic and cook them until their fat is golden. (I like to press them down on the griddle with a heavy weight.) Inside, the lamb should be pink and juicy.
4. Remove the onions from the heat and strain off any excess olive oil. Fold the soured cream and most of the broad beans through the onions, and season with black pepper and a little chopped parsley.
5. Divide the onions and sour cream between two warm plates, settle the cutlets next to them and serve with the remaining beans.

Edited extract from A Cook's Book by Nigel Slater, published by HarperCollins, RRP$60. Books will be available in November due to shipping delays.