Lamb with tomato & isot aioli

Perhaps my favourite way to enjoy lamb in summer.

Jul 30, 2024

∙ Paid

I’ve been making this simple and summery lamb dish for years. I actually had to double check that I hadn’t already published it. While lamb may not be the most summery of ingredients, the fresh tomatoes and herbs make it so. A brilliant combination alongside an aioli spiced with dark Turkish chili flakes.

If you’re unfamiliar, isot biber is a type of chili flakes inextricably linked to the city of Şanlıurfa in South-Eastern Turkey. This is why you may know it by another name, under which it’s often sold abroad: Urfa pepper.

Isot biber differ from regular chili flakes mostly in the process, where the chilies are sundried during the day but wrapped up at night, allowing them to “sweat” and ferment, giving them a considerably more complex flavour as well as a darker appearance.

It’s the pride of its home region, and a brilliant ingredient to keep in your cupboards. I use it to add a unique depth of flavour to everyday stews, meats and condiments.

A few tips for making this dish

If you’re not familiar with making aioli, you’ll want to take note that emulsified sauces (of which aioli is one) are highly sensitive. What turns out perfect once may be a semi failure the next, even though you think you’ve changed nothing. Don’t let that scare you, but take it as a reminder to keep your ingredients in order and focusing on the method.

Your ingredients should be at room temperature when starting. If you’re in a hot place, you may even want to put the olive oil in the fridge for a few minutes first. It shouldn’t be cold, just brought back closer to a more normal room temperature. Otherwise, my experience is that the end result will be runnier than if you don’t.

Also, be careful when adding the oil. Literally just drops to begin with. Whisk vigorously. Accelerate the pace of adding oil over time, but it should never be a big pour. If the oil isn’t immediately and easily emulsifying, you’re going too fast. The whole process should take a few minutes, of which the first half of the oil is probably going to take you 80% of that time.

You may or may not need all of the oil – or you may need a little more. This is one of those recipes where your senses are more important than your measurement tools. Keep going until you like the consistency.

You can use a stick blender as well, but you’ll need to use a whole egg (white and yolk) and double the remaining ingredients. There are plenty of tutorials for this method on YouTube and elsewhere.

As for the lamb, I like to use relatively fat free slices off the bone here. Easier to eat, easier to cook and works wonderfully with the tomatoes. If you’re in Turkey, the cut I use is külbastı. That said, this’ll work well with any tender cut of lamb. While I use a frying pan, a grill (barbecue) would be even better, of course.

Don’t skip salting your tomato slices for a few minutes. It’s an excellent way to bring out a lot more flavour of your tomatoes. Even if the tomatoes you start with are already quite good!

Missed it? Check out my tips for making the most out of the summer’s tomatoes.

Once done, be generous with the herbs. It really makes a difference! Feel free to use even more than on the pictures.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do.