Spiced Lamb Lettuce Cups

Method

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1. Put the sliced red onion in the vinegar with a pinch of salt and leave it while you cook.

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2. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over high heat and add the lamb in one layer. Leave it 4 minutes without touching it.

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3. Break it up, turn it and cook another 3 minutes until most of it has browned. Pour off the fat if there is more than a tablespoon.

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4. Add the diced onion and cook 5 minutes over medium, scraping the browned bits off the base as it releases water.

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5. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, Aleppo pepper and salt and stir 1 minute until fragrant.

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6. Stir in the tomato purée and fry 2 minutes until it darkens, then add the lemon juice and take it off the heat.

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7. Spoon into cold lettuce leaves and top with the pickled onion, pine nuts, parsley and a little yoghurt.

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Chef’s Tips

• Leave the mince alone for the first four minutes. Stirring straight away is why home-cooked mince is grey.
• Keep the lettuce in the fridge until the moment you serve. The contrast of cold crisp leaf against hot lamb is the dish.
• 20% fat mince, not lean. Lean lamb mince goes dry and grainy at this heat.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• A glass of Lebanese red
• Cucumber and mint salad
• Warm flatbread, for anyone not counting carbohydrate

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate the lamb up to 3 days and freeze 3 months. Assemble only what you are eating — leaves wilt within minutes of being filled. Reheat the lamb in a pan rather than a microwave to keep some crust.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.