Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

For the next 2 weeks my recipes will be looking a little different since we're on the east coast and have access to fresh fish, herbs, veggies and more.  I've got a few exciting fish recipes coming, but we were also really excited to hear that our neighbors down the street had fresh lamb available for us.  Because I'm a planner, I picked out a delicious looking mustard & thyme lamb chop recipe just to find out that they didn't have any chops available anymore.  We were so incredibly lucky to have gotten the last rack of lamb (for the entire season!) and lamb sausages.  Since we have so many great fresh herbs available in the garden, we decided to make an herb crusted rack of lamb instead.  This is a classic Gordon Ramsay recipe that we've seen him make on TV before, so we knew it would be a good one.

There really isn’t anything better than cooking with fresh & local ingredients. Not only is it better for the environment and more sustainable, but it tastes better too! So it’s really a win all around. Since we didn’t have any breadcrumbs for the recipe, I grilled up a few slices of leftover baguette and blended it to make bread crumbs. I also used 4 sprigs of each herb instead of 1 because the homegrown sprigs have fewer leaves than the store-bought kind. I think with recipes like this, it’s really all about how you want it to taste and not precise measurements. After all, each sprig of herbs will naturally be a little different! We also only had 1 rack of lamb, so we halved the recipe, but still got to experience the delicious flavor of the herbs & mustard paired with the fresh lamb. 

This recipe really has it all. It’s rich, decadent & full of flavor. Cooking rack of lamb has always intimidated me, but I think we did a pretty good job of cooking it. Since we cut between the 2 bones rather than 2 like the recipe calls for, I adjusted the cooking time and baked it for 5 minutes the first time and then just 3 the second time.  We probably could have cooked the lamb less, but overall I was very happy with how it turned out and the lamb was still juicy and pink in the center. If you’ve never cooked rack of lamb before, I think this recipe is a pretty good starting ground. 

Servings: 5-6

Total time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large racks of lamb, cut in half with 3 bones per serving

2 tbs olive oil

4 slices stale bread made into bread crumbs

7 tbs grated parmesan

1 sprig parsley

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig coriander

1 sprig rosemary

2 tbs English or dijon mustard

splash of olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F
2. Place lamb on cutting board, fat side up.  Lightly score the fat layer with a sharp knife.
3. Generously sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper.
4. Heat olive oil in an oven-safe ban and sear the lamb by holding each side in the oil for long enough to develop color (1-2 minutes per side)
5. Transfer the pan with the lamb into the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes.
6. While the lamb is cooking, prepare the crust. Place all crust ingredients (except the mustard) in a blender and pulse several times until crumbly and green throughout.
7. Pour the mixture in a deep dish and set aside.
8. Remove the lamb from the oven and brush generously with mustard.  Dip the lamb into the crust mixture and coat completely.  Dip several times to ensure even coating.  Allow the meat to rest for 5-10 minutes.
9. Place back in the oven for 3-4 minutes when ready to serve.

Here’s what our breadcrumb mixture looked like once pulsed in the blender. We had some leftover, so we may use it on chicken or fish too! It has such a nice herbaceous flavor to it, it would really go well with any meat.

A close up of the final product: