Lamb Milanese with Pickled Ramp Aioli and Lambs Quarters Salad
Tender lamb or mutton cutlets with a tart, herby aioli and a salad of wild lamb's quarters.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Cutlets
- A 12 oz roast cut from a leg of lamb or more
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 3 eggs beaten with a splash of water
- 2 all purpose flour
- Cooking oil as needed
Salad
- 5 oz salad greens 5 generous handfuls washed and cleaned
- Wildflowers to garnish, optional
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or another oil like hickory nut
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or to taste
Aioli
- 1 cup mayonnaise homemade or your favorite brand
- ¼ cup chopped pickled ramps or your favorite pickle
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons other soft herbs you like such as dill, mint, tarragon, etc
- Zest and juice of one lemon
Instructions
Aioli
- Mix the mayonnaise with the herbs and remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning for more herbs, salt, or lemon until it tastes good to you. Adding a splash of pickle brine can be nice too.
Cutlets
- Trim the roast of fat if desired. Slice the leg at a ½ inch thickness *almost* down to the bottom, but do not cut completely down. Make another cut completely through the meat to make a butterflied slice. Refer to the video and image if this seems unclear to you. Repeat with the rest of the roast. Pound the slices of mutton with a mallet until thin, being careful not to tear them.
- Season the leg slices with salt and pepper on one side only and reserve.
- Season the flour with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and mix.
- One at a time, toss the slices of mutton in flour to coat, tap off the excess, then dip in the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs, pressing on the crumbs to help them adhere.
- Fry the cutlets in a ¼ inch of oil until browned on both sides.
Salad
- Meanwhile, season the greens with the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and maple syrup. Taste and adjust the seasoning until it tastes good to you.
- Spoon 1/3 cup or more of the aioli onto each plate, pushing it out to the sides as to not make the coating of the cutlets soggy. Put a cutlet in the middle of each plate, garnish with a handful of the salad greens off-center, garnish with some of the wildflowers, and serve.
Video
Notes
Making in advance. This can be a nice thing to make ahead of time. After the cutlets are breaded, put them on a tray and freeze them solid, then wrap in cling film or put in a container and keep in the freezer until needed. They should cooked directly from frozen.