Two elements. One cheffy plate. Forty minutes.

Some of the best restaurant plates are just two things done properly, arranged with a bit of nerve. This is one you can pull off at home: cutlets pressed with a za'atar paste — that herby, sesame-flecked, faintly sour spice blend of the Levant — grilled hard, and served over a cloud of feta whipped smooth with yoghurt. Hot against cold, herbs against salt, char against cream. It takes forty minutes, and most of the skill is just having the confidence to stop at two elements and let them talk.

40 mins 2 servings Prep 30 minsCook 10 minsMain CourseMiddle Eastern

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb cutlets (1 pack)
  • 2 tbsp za'atar
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 150g feta
  • 75g Greek yoghurt
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Small handful mint leaves, to serve
  • Warm flatbread, to serve

Instructions

For the za'atar cutlets

Stir the za'atar, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic and lemon zest into a loose paste. Pat the cutlets dry and press the paste over both sides.

4 lamb cutlets2 tbsp za'atar1 clove garliczest of 1/2 lemon

Leave the cutlets at room temperature for 15 minutes while you make the whipped feta — the paste needs a little time to settle in, and the meat cooks more evenly without its fridge chill.

For the whipped feta

Blitz the feta, yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice in a small food processor for a minute or two, scraping down once, until completely smooth and mousse-like. A stick blender in a jug works too.

150g feta75g Greek yoghurtsqueeze of lemon

Taste — it should be salty and bright. Keep cool until serving; it thickens slightly as it sits.

To finish

Heat a grill pan over high heat with the last tablespoon of oil until smoking. Season the cutlets with salt.

1 tbsp olive oil

Grill 2–3 minutes per side until the za'atar crust is deeply toasted — dark green-gold, charred at the edges — and the lamb is pink at the bone. Rest 3 minutes.

Sweep the whipped feta across two plates with the back of a spoon, prop two cutlets on each, and finish with mint leaves and a thread of olive oil.

mint leaves

Serve with warm flatbread — for the feta as much as the lamb.

Appears in

In every lamb share — Cutlets (4 pack)

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Pastured Lamb Share
Sale price From $150.00Regular price $162.41

Za'atar, and Why It Loves a Cutlet

Za'atar is the Levant's everyday spice blend — dried wild thyme and oregano, toasted sesame, and sumac, the crimson berry that brings a lemony sourness. On its own it's sprinkled over bread and oil; pressed onto meat and hit with high heat, the sesame toasts, the herbs char, and the sumac keeps the whole crust bright instead of heavy. Cutlets are the perfect vehicle because they're thin — one rib each off the rack, the tenderest chop on the animal — so the crust reaches deeply toasted at the exact moment the lamb inside reaches pink. Your Farmer® cutlets arrive four to a pack in every pastured lamb share, grass-fed from birth, with the sort of sweet, clean flavour that a loud crust like this needs underneath it. If you're new to what pasture does for the meat, the grass-fed story is worth ten minutes with a cuppa.

Swaps and Variations

Za'atar blends vary — Lebanese versions lean herby, Palestinian ones heavier on sesame — and any good one works here. If the jar's run out, mix dried thyme, dried oregano, toasted sesame seeds and sumac in rough quarters and you've made your own. Goat's cheese whips up where feta does, tangier and softer; a spoon of honey over the finished plate is a sweet-salty move that sounds wrong and eats right. The same paste-and-grill treatment suits loin chops with a couple of extra minutes a side. And the whipped feta alone — under roast pumpkin, beside barbecued anything — will quietly enter your regular rotation.

Storage and Leftovers

Whipped feta keeps 3 days covered in the fridge and firms as it chills — loosen it with a teaspoon of yoghurt and a brisk stir. The cutlets can sit in their za'atar paste overnight if that suits the schedule. Cooked leftovers keep 3 days airtight; eat them cold or flash them in a hot pan, because a slow reheat dulls the crust. The leftover plan writes itself: flatbread, whipped feta, lamb off the bone, mint — roll it up and call it lunch. And when the freezer's looking thin, you can reserve your share for the next run.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I buy za'atar?

Most major supermarkets now stock it in the spice aisle, and any Middle Eastern grocer will have better versions in bigger bags. Check the label — good za'atar lists thyme or oregano, sesame and sumac, not just "herbs".

Can I make the whipped feta without a food processor?

A stick blender in a jug does the job well. Failing that, mash the feta thoroughly with a fork, then beat in the yoghurt — you'll get a rustic spread rather than a smooth mousse, and the plate still works.

Will the za'atar burn over high heat?

It toasts and chars at the edges, which is where the flavour peaks — the oil in the paste protects it for the short cooking time. If your pan is ferociously hot, drop to medium-high and add 30 seconds per side.

What internal temperature am I aiming for?

Pull the cutlets at 58–60°C in the thickest part for pink and juicy; the rest carries them up a couple of degrees. Without a thermometer, 2–3 minutes per side over proper heat lands there reliably.

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