Grilled Lamb Chops with Minted Yoghurt and New Potatoes

Ingredients

• 8 lamb loin chops
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 700 g new potatoes, scrubbed and halved if large
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 300 g fine green beans, trimmed
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 200 g lactose-free natural yoghurt
• 20 g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, divided
• 2 tsp garlic-infused olive oil
• Fine salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes

Method

1. Put the lamb chops in a bowl with the olive oil, garlic-infused oil, dried oregano, ground cumin and the lemon zest and juice. Season generously with salt and pepper; lamb takes salt well. Toss to coat and leave for at least 10 minutes while you get the rest moving. The cumin and oregano will toast in the hot oil on the griddle, waking up and smelling of themselves rather than the spice jar.
2. Wait until a full pan of water is properly boiling. Tip in the new potatoes and cook for 18–20 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance.
3. While the potatoes go, make the minted yoghurt. Stir the yoghurt, chopped mint, garlic-infused oil and lemon juice together in a small bowl with a good pinch of salt. Taste it; you want the mint forward, the garlic present but not aggressive, and enough salt to make the whole thing sing. Refrigerate until you need it.
4. Set a steamer basket or colander over the potato pan for the last 6 minutes. Add the green beans, lid on, and steam for 5–6 minutes until bright green and snappy with a little bite; limp beans are a sad plate.
5. Get a griddle pan or heavy stainless or cast-iron pan ripping hot; you want it smoking before the lamb goes near it. Cook the chops in two batches if your pan can't take all eight in a single layer with space between them; crowd them and they steam in their own juices instead of charring. 3–4 minutes a side gives you deep griddle lines and a blush of pink at the bone. Rest on a warm plate for a couple of minutes; the juices need to settle back into the meat.
6. Drain the potatoes and return them to the warm pan off the heat. Add the butter and chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper, and toss until the butter slumps into a glossy coat. Taste one.
7. Tip the steamed beans into a bowl, dress with the extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, and season. The acid lifts them out of plain steamed-veg territory.
8. Spoon the minted yoghurt across a large serving platter in a thick, generous swoosh. Lay the rested lamb chops on top, then pile the buttered potatoes and dressed beans alongside.
9. Serve with the minted yoghurt and new potatoes. Squeeze a wedge over the chops as you serve; the acid cuts cleanly through the lamb fat.