Jim Coleman Recipes

Sautéed Lamb Scaloppini with Green Peppercorn Minted Jus

Lamb is probably the quintessential spring meat, and lamb and mint are classic partners. Yes, spring is in the air with this recipe! Some people think of lamb as a little gamey and strong tasting, but a lot of that flavor is in the fat. Here, we carefully trim the fat from the lamb, so all you'll get is the succulent flavor of the tender lamb meat. Many lamb dishes, such as scaloppini and piccata, are interchangeable with veal, and vice versa.

For this recipe you will need:

• 4 lamb scaloppini's (taken from the leg or loin) trimmed of all fat and pounded, about 5 ounces each
• Flour for dredging
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the Green Peppercorn Minted Jus:

• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
• 1 tomato, blanched, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 cup Lamb Stock
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon green peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 mint sprigs for garnish

Dredge the lamb scaloppinis in the flour to lightly coat; shake off the excess flour. Season with the black pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick sauté pan. Add the scaloppinis to the hot pan and sauté over medium-high heat for about 1 minute on each side, until browned. Remove the lamb from the pan and keep warm.

To prepare the jus, deglaze the pan with the brandy. Add the shallots, tomato, lamb stock, mint, green peppercorns, lemon juice, and salt; reduce by half.

Spoon the jus onto the plate in a crescent shape, following the rim of the plate. Place the lamb scaloppini's so they overlap half of the jus, tracing the inside contour of the crescent. Garnish the center of each plate with a mint sprig and serve. Serve with couscous or oven-roasted potatoes, if desired.