Super Food In Minutes20 Minutes

Spice-crusted Lamb with White Bean & Tomato Salad

Name: Spice-crusted Lamb with White Bean & Tomato Salad
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 x 150g (5oz) lamb neck fillets; 1 tbsp coriander seeds; 2 tsp fennel seeds; good pinch of dried chilli flakes; 2 tbsp olive oil; 500g (1lb 2oz) ripe vine tomatoes, cut into thin wedges; 1 x 400g (14oz) tin white beans (such as cannellini or butter beans), drained and rinsed; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; squeeze of lemon juice; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; handful of fresh basil leaves

Warm and fragrant and full of the taste of an Italian summer, you could also make this dish with Puy lentils or chickpeas instead of beans.

Donal SkehanFrom the series · Super Food In Minutes

20 min totalServes 4Easy

Time20 min

Serves4

SkillEasy

ShowSuper Food In Minutes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).

Put the neck fillets into a dish. Roughly crush the coriander and fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar, then mix with the chilli flakes and half the oil. Press all over the lamb, season well and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the tomatoes and beans on a serving platter. Mix the vinegar and lemon juice with some seasoning, then whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil; pour this over the tomatoes and beans.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the spiced lamb on all sides until sealed and golden all over. Transfer to the oven and cook for 8–10 minutes (the lamb should still be pink in the middle). Rest for 5 minutes, then slice and gently toss through the beans and tomato salad. Scatter with the basil leaves and serve.

Cook's notes

Crush the coriander and fennel seeds only roughly — you want little pockets of texture and aroma, not a fine powder.
Give the spice paste a full ten minutes on the lamb before it hits the pan; use that time to dress the tomatoes and beans so they soak up the vinegar and oil.
Sear the fillets on all sides until properly golden before they go in the oven — that colour is where a lot of the flavour lives.
Lamb neck fillet is best served pink, so pull it at 8 to 10 minutes and don't be tempted to push it further.
Resting for five minutes is non-negotiable — it lets the juices settle so they dress the beans rather than run out on the board.

Serve with The bean and tomato salad makes it a meal on its own, but warm flatbread or crusty bread to mop the juices is very welcome, as is a dollop of thick yoghurt.

Make ahead & storage The salad is best assembled fresh. Any leftover lamb keeps in the fridge for a couple of days and is lovely sliced cold into a lunch or a wrap the next day.

20 Minutes

Recipe by Donal Skehan · From the series Super Food In Minutes · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 13 July 2026 · Updated 15 July 2026

Nutrition

Per serving

729kcal

37gprotein

27gcarbs

50gfat

Figures from the show's kitchen.

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