The recipe



Warm 4 tbsp of olive oil in a shallow pan, then add 50g of fresh, white breadcrumbs and let them fry for 4 or 5 minutes until golden. Toss them regularly so they don’t burn, and be prepared to add a little more oil as necessary. As they turn gold, stir in 1 heaped tsp of berbere seasoning and continue cooking for a minute or so until fragrant.

Roughly chop 100g of frozen peas. Chop 10 large mint leaves and mix them with the peas and 3 tbsp of olive oil. Stir the peas and mint into the warm crumbs and continue cooking for a minute or two. Thinly slice 100g of radishes. Halve 150g of cherry tomatoes, mix with the radishes and divide between 2 plates.

Lightly oil, season and cook 8 lamb cutlets on a hot griddle pan or under an overhead oven grill. They will need 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Place the cutlets on a serving plate, then scatter the crumbs and peas over and serve. Enough for 2.

The trick



Fresh breadcrumbs sponge up a lot of olive oil. Have the bottle standing by in case you need to add more as the crumbs toast. The peas will defrost almost as soon as they meet the warm crumbs. Should you wish to use fresh peas, cook them briefly in boiling, lightly salted water first, before chopping them and mixing with the mint.

The twist



Berbere spice mix, a warm and aromatic seasoning, is available from grocers and supermarkets as well as online. The blend of chilli, nigella, fenugreek, ginger, paprika, cardamom and cinnamon (among many others) is already toasted, so it doesn’t need more than warming to release its magic. You could replace it with garam masala or use a mixture of herbs instead – I suggest mint, parsley, rosemary, dried savory and a little grated lemon zest.

Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter@NigelSlater

Greenfeast: Spring, Summer by Nigel Slater is out now (4th Estate, £22). To order a copy for £16.99, go to guardianbookshop.com