Lamb scrumpets with salsa verde

This is the perfect way to use up leftover lamb. Beautifully crisp on the outside with meltingly soft lamb in the centre, these scrumpets are wickedly moreish. Paired with a punchy salsa verde it’s the perfect start to a meal or just a great snack to have alongside a decent pint of ale. If you don’t fancy the salsa verde they also work really well with the oregano yogurt sauce recipe. I haven’t given exact measurements for the lamb in this recipe as it depends how much meat you have left over and how large you want to make your scrumpets!

Serves: 2 - 3

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 20 mins (plus overnight)

Ingredients

For the lamb scrumpets

  • Leftover shredded lamb
  • 50g panko breadcrumbs
  • 50g plain flour
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
  • Salt and pepper

For the salsa verde

  • 30g fresh parsley
  • 15g fresh basil
  • ½ clove garlic
  • 3 heaped tsps capers
  • 4 anchovy fillets
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt
  • ½ lemon (juice only)

Lamb scrumpets with salsa verde

This is the perfect way to use up leftover lamb. Beautifully crisp on the outside with meltingly soft lamb in the centre, these scrumpets are wickedly moreish. Paired with a punchy salsa verde it’s the perfect start to a meal or just a great snack to have alongside a decent pint of ale. If you don’t fancy the salsa verde they also work really well with the oregano yogurt sauce recipe. I haven’t given exact measurements for the lamb in this recipe as it depends how much meat you have left over and how large you want to make your scrumpets!

Method

For the lamb scrumpets

  1. First you need to prepare the lamb. I used the lamb from my slow-cooked lamb recipe but equally you could use the leftovers from your Sunday roast. Make sure the meat has been really well shredded with a couple of forks before continuing.
  2. Line a baking tray with Clingfilm and spread the lamb out in a thin layer (approx. ½ cm). Lay another sheet of Clingfilm over the meat, then another baking tray, and with your hands press firmly. Sit something heavy on top of the lamb (such as a couple of tin cans laying down) and pop in the fridge overnight to firm up.
  3. The next day prepare the coating for the scrumpets. On one plate add the flour, salt and pepper. On another add the panko breadcrumbs. Finally whisk the egg and put in a small bowl.
  4. Remove the compressed lamb from the fridge and transfer to a chopping board. With a sharp knife carefully cut the lamb in to 2cm x 6cm strips (or any shape you fancy).
  5. Take each strip and carefully dust in the flour, then the egg and finally coat in the breadcrumbs. Set aside and repeat until all the strips have been breadcrumbed.
  6. Heat the oil in a shallow frying pan and when hot, fry the scrumpets for 1 min each side until they are golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray once done (this stage can completed in advance).
  7. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (fan).
  8. Pop the scrumpets in the oven for 10 mins until heated through. While they are finishing their final stage of cooking you can prepare the salsa verde.

For the salsa verde

  1. Place the garlic, basil and parsley (removing the larger stalks from the herbs) in to a blender with a generous pinch of salt and blend.
  2. Once all the herbs and garlic are finely chopped add the capers and anchovies and blitz again.
  3. Finally add the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and give it one last blitz. Add more or less lemon juice according to taste.
  4. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

To plate

  1. Serve 3 – 5 scrumpets per person depending on the size, with a small bowl of the salsa verde on the side. You can dress with a sprig of basil or parsley should you wish.

Lamb scrumpets with salsa verde

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