The recipe
Put 6 large lamb cutlets on a chopping board and flatten them slightly, using a cutlet bat or rolling pin. They shouldn’t be more than a couple of centimetres thick.
Put 100g of white bread, crusts included, into the bowl of a food processor. Drop a heaped tablespoon of thyme leaves into the breadcrumbs, add a handful of picked parsley leaves, then process to coarse crumbs. Season with salt and some black pepper.
Crack an egg into a shallow bowl or plate, beat it lightly, then place the chops, one at a time, into the beaten egg. Turn and coat the other side. Lift the chops from the beaten egg and lower into the crumbs. Press down firmly on the crumbs, then turn and coat the other side.
Warm a little olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat, add a slice of butter, then fry the chops for 3 or 4 minutes on either side. Lift the chops out and drain them on kitchen paper.
While the chops are cooking, mash 100g of Roquefort or other soft blue cheese with 150ml of double cream. Serve with the crumbed lamb. Serves 2.
The trick
The danger here is that the crumb coating cooks before the lamb is ready, so make sure the lamb is no thicker than 2cm. Keep the heat at a moderate level, so the crumbs don’t colour too quickly.
The twist
This works well with pork steaks, too – in which case the blue cheese dressing could be replaced by something lighter, such as shredded grated cucumber and yogurt or puréed poached rhubarb.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater