Having just come back from Rome, I can honestly say that there is nothing in this world that can match an Italian fritto. The joy of these, particularly, is that they are wonderful eaten cold as well, their pink juiciness trapped within their eggy parmesan coating. If you don’t have any stale bread to hand for making the breadcrumbs, then just split open some pitta breads, leave them a short while – even half an hour will do – to dry out and then tear them up and blitz them in a processor.
10 lamb chop cutlets with bone in
175g fresh white breadcrumbs or 3 pitta breads, processed
10g grated parmesan
2 eggs, beaten with salt and pepper
olive oil (not extra virgin) for frying
Remove the thick layer of fat from around the edge of each little chop, either by tearing it off by hand, or with a pair of scissors. Be careful not to lose the shape of the chop, though, or it will fall to pieces on frying.
Layer the chops between two sheets of clingfilm, and beat them vigorously with a mallet or rolling pin so that they are flattened a little.
Then, in a wide, shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and parmesan, and put the seasoned eggs in another bowl.
Pour some olive oil into a frying pan, to come about 1cm deep, and put it on the heat. Dip the lamb chops first in the eggy mixture and then press them well in the cheese and breadcrumbs before frying them in the hot oil. Cook the chops for about 3 minutes each side: they should be a deep golden brown and crunchy outside, within a still tender pink.
Eat them as they are, left to get to room temperature or even cold: there is no way these are anything less than compulsively delicious.
Serves 4.