When I was a little girl, I remember the special scent of late spring. The constant combination of changing temperatures from cool mornings and hot afternoons – summer was just around the corner.
My aunt, my Dad’s older sister, had a little garden with all sorts of vegetables: potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, beet roots, strawberries, raspberries but also beans and peas. Every day she would get something from the garden to be served for lunch or dinner. When we came for a visit, she always showed us around – me and my older sister – and we were allowed to help with the preparations.
The greatest however was: while picking the peas, we were allowed to taste them. Right there in the garden. Freshly picked! We broke up the pea shell and enjoyed eating the fresh peas – one by one. Very slowly.
Fresh peas have quite a distinct and truly fantastic taste. That’s why I love to cook with fresh peas or I use frozen ones, since they still have the crunch and the “spring” in them.
Serving for two persons – approx. 4 cutlets each
- 500 gr lamb cutlets
- 400 gr green fresh peas
- 2-3 rosemary
- 50 gr mint leaves
- 1 spring onion
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 lemon – fresh juice
- 1 lemon in wedges – to serve
- salt & pepper – freshly grounded
1// Preheat the oven to 80-100 °C.
2// Put water and a pintch of salt into one pan and bring to the boil. Place the peas inside the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the peas start swimming on the surface. Blanche the peas in ice cold water so they keep their lovely green color, then keep them warm.
3// Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil into an oven proof pan and put on hight heat. Place the lamb cutlets together with rosemary and garlic into the hot pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Keep on high heat.
4// Place the oven proof pan into the preheated oven and let the lamb cutlets rest for 5 minutes at about 80 °C.
5// In the meantime, break each pea shell and gather all peas in a pan on very low heat. Add the butter and the spring onion and glaze for 1-2- minutes.
6// Place the glazed peas into a bowl, lightly crush the peas with a fork and add the mint leaves. Season very lightly with salt and pepper.
7// Take out the lamb cutlets from the oven and place them together with 2-3 spoons of crushed peas on each plate. Serve with lemon wedges and top with freshly grounded salt and pepper.
This dish is so easy to make, you will absolutely love it! It is fixed in only a few minutes, the meat is soft and tasty and the peas bring along a nutty freshness.
It’s ‘peas’ time!
SMALL KITCHEN . FAB CREATIONS 