Cook a comforting dish

Alison Roman is arguably the coolest person cooking today – and now you can find her favourite recipes in Grazia. This week, in good time for Easter, a super-easy but tasty lamb dish

FOR YEARS, I convinced myself that I didn’t care for lamb, but this dish, made with the meaty, savoury loin chop, officially changed my mind.

There’s nothing fussy involved, no overnight marinade or hours-long cooking. No shoulder muscles to separate, no unruly leg to truss and tie. Just a quick-cooking, mildly flavoured steak-like cut.

As with beef and pork, cuts from the loin area of lamb tend to be leaner and more tender than those from the rib area. (Much of the lamb’s flavour comes from the fat, so a leaner cut generally translates to a less lamby flavour.)

Loin chops are also typically cut about 2cm thick, meaning they can be seared long and hard to goldenbrown perfection, getting crisp on the outside without overcooking. They are even better when dusted with fennel seed and cracked black pepper, which add flavourful, crunchy, toasty bits.

After cooking these chops in the largest skillet you have, let them rest on a cutting board for a few minutes. While you do this, throw together the shaved cucumber and fennel salad with lots of lemon and plenty of herbs. Grains or rice would be a welcome addition, but so would warm flatbreads or roasted potatoes.