Lamb Cutlets Reform By Alexis Soyer: Sweet And Sour Lamb Cutlets - cooking recipe

Ingredients

8 lamb cutlets (French trimmed, ie. with the fat taken off and flattened slightly)
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
50 g cooked ham, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
60 -70 g fresh white breadcrumbs
vegetable oil (for frying)
1 good knob butter
Sauce
2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
half garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 good pinch cayenne pepper
60 g butter
2 teaspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon tomato puree
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon red currant jelly
300 ml beef stock, made up from a good stock cube will do fine
40 g sliced ham, cut into thin 3cm strips
1 small cooked beetroot, weighing about 70g peeled and cut into strips like the ham
2 large gherkins cut into strips like the ham
white of 1 large hard-boiled egg, shredded into strips the same size as the ham

Preparation

First make the sauce: gently cook the shallots, garlic and cayenne pepper in half of the butter for 2-3 minutes, stirring every so often. Add the flour and tomato puree and stir well. Add the vinegar and redcurrant jelly and simmer f for a minute, then add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Season to taste, and whisk in the remaining butter.
Meanwhile, mix the breadcrumbs with the ham and parsley. Season the lamb cutlets and pass through the egg then the breadcrumbs. Heat a couple of tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and cook the cutlets for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden, adding the butter towards the end.
To serve, add the shredded ham, beetroot, gherkin and egg white to the sauce, or mix and serve separately. Eat with potato dauphinoise.