Five of the best

Cooking Rowley Leigh

A cutlet above

Schnitzels are not as easy as all that. Thousands of restaurants – Italian, Austrian or just plain “continental” – are testimony to either soggy cardboard or dry plywood rather than a crisp, slightly crunchy crumb. Likewise, the meat inside this elegant sandwich is often somewhat desiccated. To be any good, it requires not scrimping on the quality of the meat, attention to the coating and, above all, care in the gentle frying in a bubblingly hot mixture of oil and butter. Plus, a careful drying off –kitchen paper and a pinch of salt – before putting the schnitzel on the plate is essential.

Most attempts to substitute out-of-favour veal with pork, chicken or even turkey (not quite as silly as it sounds) do not really work. They lack the milky, savoury quality that the combination of veal, crumb and a squeeze of lemon can possess. Indeed a good cotoletta alla milanese, a chop still on the bone and beaten out to the thickness of a pound coin and big enough to overspill the largest plate, might well be a desert-island dish if only the castaway had someone with whom to share it.

It may seem odd to apply this treatment to lamb. And I wouldn’t. At least I wouldn’t with most lamb, most of the time. However, the lamb we can get now and for the next month or two should be young and genuinely spring lamb. Most chefs I know don’t have much time for it. The fashion now is for rare breed hogget, beasts that have seen a winter on the fells and have a pronounced flavour: young spring lamb is seen as insipid and lacking in taste. This is right and wrong. It is delicate and sweet and should not be overwhelmed with strong and contrasting flavours.

Cutlets from the best end of spring lamb are still highly prized, however, and expensive. Beating them out a little and coating them with crumbs does help to eke them out a little. The meat is tender and responds well to the treatment: I like to put a little Parmesan in the crumb – a trick that might be frowned on in Italy – to give extra umami to the proceedings.

Whereas this is an elegant little supper for two, it has another application. Fry off a dozen or two in the morning, swaddle in paper towels, put them in a Tupperware container – other brands are available –and bring them out at a picnic. The response will be very positive. 6 More columns at ft.com/leigh

Lambcutlets ‘milanese’

Chefscan’tbebothered tomakebreadcrumbs thesedaysandusethe Japanesepankocrumbs. Theyareprettygood andhandy tohavein the cupboard.Recipefortwo.

•1 rackofnewseason’s springlamb •5 tbsplainflour •2 eggs •2 tbssunfloweroil •6 tbsbreadcrumbs, quitefine,oruse pankocrumbs •2 tbsfinelygrated Parmesan •50mlsunfloweroil •50gbutter

Askthebutcher –ordo ityourself –tocutaway theflapcoveringthe rackandtoremovethe finesilverskinmembrane thatcoversthemeat, andthencuttherack into fourlargecutlets (therearenormally seven).Cleananyfat andconnectivetissue fromaroundthebones andthen,withthemeat betweentwosheetsof heavyfilm –a carrierbag willdothetrick –beat outthemeattothe thicknessof apound coin.Ifyou don’thavea meatbat,averysmall saucepanwilldothetrick.

Preparethreelittle dishes:onewiththe flourwellseasoned withsaltandfinewhite pepper;thesecondwith theeggsandoilbeaten togetherandthethird withthecrumbsand Parmesanwellmixed. Immerseeachcutletin allthreebowlstocoat.

Heattheoilandaddthe butter.Onceitisfoaming, slipinthecutlets,holding themawayfromyou. Theyshouldbecome crispandgolden brown withina minute:turn themoverandrepeaton theotherside. Liftthem outontokitchenpaper, add apinchofsaltand serveupwith agenerous wedgeoflemon.

Peasand peashoots

It’sshocking, Iknow,but Iboughtshelledpeas andpeashootsfrom awell-knownonline supermarket.Theshame. Very good,though.

•400goffreshpeas •3 or 4handfulsofpea shoots •6 mintleaves •1 tbsbutter

Dropthepeasintoa large potofsaltedwater. Whentender –anything between aminuteand 10,dependingonthesize andageofthepeas–drainandtossthem,off theheat,withthebutter, mintandpeashoots.