Street food has to be the most popular and most exciting trend in British food at the moment. Street food is typified by big, bold and gutsy flavours, it is easy to eat, and can be rapidly cooked and quickly served to a crowd.
Of course great food tasting food needs top quality ingredients, and in my mind the better the ingredients then the simpler the recipe can be – focus on the flavour of the premium ingredients – and by and large the rest will look after itself.
My lemon and garlic cannon of lamb is inspired by some great British street food I tried recently. It focuses on the lamb as an ingredient, and is very easy to cook, and feed a crowd with, as well as being elegant enough to serve at an after work supper party.
A cannon of lamb is one half of the loin, containing the meat from the eye. It is beautifully tender and can be quickly roasted, or marinated and fried as I have done here.
For ore easy recipes with cuts of lamb you might like my sticky lamb chops one tray, or my slow cooked pulled lamb.
Recipe: Garlic & lemon cannon of lamb with winter slaw - street food style
Ingredients
For the Lamb:
- 2 small lean cannons of lamb
- 2 cloves garlic - finely grated
- zest 1 lemon - finely grated
- pepper and salt
For the 'Slaw
- Handful Cavolo Nero - stalk removed and finely shredded
- 1/2 head Hipsi or other pale green cabbage - stalk removed and finely shredded
- 1 large carrot - peeled and grated
- 1 tbs olive oil
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- 25 g coriander - roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli - seeds removed and chopped
- Pepper and salt
For the Puffed Tortilla Chips
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 tortilla wraps - each cut into 6 wedges
- Pepper and salt
Instructions
For the Lamb
- Pat the cannons of lamb dry with a paper towel and rub the garlic and lemon zest into them well. Season. Wrap in cling film and pop into the fridge overnight to marinade.
- When ready to cook allow the lamb to come to room temperature and fry over a high heat in a drizzle of olive oil for bout 10 minutes turning from time to time, until the outside is browned, but the middle still pink.
- Allow to rest for a few minutes and then slice on a bed of the 'slaw with a few tortilla wrap puffs.
- Garnish with coriander, red chilli slices and chilli sauce.
For the Slaw
- Place all the ingredients into a bowl, and then mix with your hands, really squeezing the dressing into the cabbage. Season to taste.
For the Puffed Tortilla Chips
- Melt the butter and olive oil and fry the wedges of wrap until puffed and golden. Season with sea salt and serve immediately.
If you like a chilli kick you can top the cannon of lamb with a dollop of my kebab shop chilli sauce and a drizzle of my kebab shop garlic sauce which pairs brilliantly with grilled meats.
My lamb dish was inspired by a recent street food event with Quality Standard Lamb to showcase lamb and the variety of new cuts from seam butchery, which has always been popular in France, and is now increasingly popular in the UK. The meat is cut into its muscle groups, which gives a wider variety of smaller tender cuts of meat, which are ideal for speedy roasting or cooking for one or two.
Dishes on offer included a Moroccan lamb burger, spiced chops, 36 hour cooked lamb breast – served with artichoke puree and salsify, and a hay baked hogget with herbs and tomato salsa. All delicious, big on flavour, prepared ahead and then rapidly finished and served to a crowd.
As ingredients are expensive to avoid disappointment make sure you buy and serve lamb and beef which has been quality assured. The Quality Standard Mark in independent butchers and selected supermarkets was launched to help consumers identify quality meat at point of purchase, all meat sold under the scheme is chosen according to a strict selection process to ensure that it is consistently succulent and tender.
The mark also acts as a guarantee of provenance with the logo having either the Union Flag or the St George’s flag to show the meat comes from UK or English farm.
Recipe commissioned by AHDB Beef & Lamb, who run the Quality Standard Scheme. All opinions our own.
For more information visit Simply Beef and Lamb.
Janie
Dang that looks amazing!!! I’m glad you explained what a cannon was as I’d never heard of it :)
Janie x
Helen
Thanks Janie. It was pretty good.
Elizabeth
Oh heavens this sounds absolutely amazing! I have a freezer full of British lamb – pinned to try later!
Helen
We did rather enjoy it. Simple but so so good.
Amber H.
Wow, I always thought they were making a joke in the recipes when they said a cannon of lamb. Good to know!
Helen
Nope – a cannon is a real, and very delicious cut!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
Love the winter slaw, there’s never a time when shredded veggies aren’t appropriate, and it’s so easy to adapt depending on the season. Lovely photos!
Helen
Thanks Becca, and thanks for scrolling through my meaty post!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
My OH would absolutely love this recipe which seems perfect with the winter slaw. Thanks for introducing me to the quality standard scheme and the idea of a cannon of lamb.
Helen
Thanks Bintu, it was delicious and so speedy to make!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
Does that ever look good. We love lamb and this may be a good way to use some of the lamp we have in the freezer.
Helen
I’d use it for all the tender cuts you have Marisa!
Stuart Vettese
That looks so good. Lamb is one of my favourite meats. Cannon completely new one on me too! x
Helen
I really recommend the cannon Stuart – tender, lean, quick cooking and perfect for 2.
Kelly Hutchinson
I will admit, I am not a lamb person. Bit, that street slaw looks really yummy.
Helen
You should try it Kelly, the cannon is a lovely cut.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
Oh this looks and sounds gorgeous! I love lamb, but always feel that it’s given a bad rep for being fatty.
Helen
There was no fat on this at all. Just lean delicious meat!
Platter Talk
I love bona fide street food but honestly, I’ve never seen any look or sound so elegant or delicious; lovely job with this recipe!
Helen
It really ticked all the Street Food boxes Dan – once prepared it was easy to finish cooking and serve.
kate @veggie desserts
I love street food – it’s great to try ‘real’ food from around the world. Your slaw with cavelo nero sounds amazing!
Helen
I adore street food too, but it has to be easy to eat!
Camilla
Lush dish and gorgeous looking lamb I love it when it’s just pink in the middle like that. I shall be sure to check for the quality standard marks on any beef or lamb I buy from now on!
Helen
Thanks Camilla, it was so good, I took the photos really fast and then gobbled it up!
Jo of Jo's Kitchen
I love lamb and do not eat it often enough. I need to make this. Yummy!
Helen
Go for it Jo! it is actually very easy, and very big on taste.
Jenny Graham
That lamb looks so perfectly cooked. And nice that you’ve considered the sourcing of the lamb. I’ll have to look out for the quality standard mark next time I’m shopping.
Helen
Thank you Jenny. I do like the QS scheme, you know what you are getting and meat is so expensive.
Archie Osborne
That barbecue looks so incredible! And so nice to hear about cooking a hogget.
The great thing about the quality standard mark is that it’s independent, and not just relying on a shop’s own standards. Nice to have some third party reassurance.
Helen
The hogget was so delicious Archie! I agree re the Quality Standard Mark. Nice to have reassurance.
Ali @ Home & Plate
I love lamb and think your photos just jump off the page. I imagine it is out of this world delicious.
Helen
thank you Ali. The lamb certainly jumped straight off the plate!
Tina Marie
Haven’t had lamb in years! This delicious look plate of goodness makes me want to run out and get the ingredients now. My husband will love this!
Helen
Go for it Tina, it is so simple to make and would be great for feeding a crowd
Claudia ! Gourmet Project
this is GOURMET street food. wow, guess I know what my next “the walking dead” night menu will be!
Helen
Thank you Claudia, it was astonishingly easy to make, but big on flavour, which I suppose is the aim of street food?
Neli @ Delicious Meets Healthy
I bet that tastes amazing!! So much flavor and those pictures are gorgeous!
Helen
Thank you Neli. I did rather enjoy it, and so easy too.
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs
I don’t eat meat very regularly at all but I could seriously be persuaded to chow down on some lamb after seeing this. The photos are beautiful it really got my mouth watering!
Helen
We don’t eat it that often Emma, quality over quantity every time for us!
Rachel @ Simple Seasonal
This recipe looks sooo good! Lamb is my favorite meat by far and in the US it’s actually quite difficult to find quality cut. I envious of all of your ewes over there on the other side of the pound ;) I love the spicy flair you added to this cut of meat. Pinning for later!
Helen
It think that much is in the skill of the butcher, wishing you luck in finding some good lamb.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
Never heard of this cut before but this dish looks amazing!
Helen
Thank you Sarah! We loved it, so super quick to make too, almost too good for street food.
Jessica
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious!! I’d be thrilled to find this kind of street food!
Helen
I love good street food, there is so much around in the UK and London. Really excellent.
Jay
Food does look so much better with a bit of care over presentation. Pre carved like in your photo looks super!
Helen
Thanks Jay! It was super tasty!