Rack of Lamb with a Herbes de Provence and Pinot Noir Sauce
Method
Tips
- A butcher will French the racks for you, but it is easy and fun to do this yourself.
Simply cut along the back of the rack, just above where the meaty part of the lamb is. Turning the knife upwards, scrape the gristly meat off to expose the rib bones. Cut between each of the ribs, taking out the tiny amount of meat found there. Scrape away the bones until they are clean and white. Lay the rack down, back uppermost, and make shallow criss-cross incisions in the fat.
We like to serve this dish with a Brunoise of vegetables and steamed Jersey Royal potatoes. Here in the United Kingdom British spring lamb is especially hard to beat and you have the luxury of eating it with local spring vegetables so I use baby spring vegetables such as carrots, purple sprouting broccoli and calabrese broccoli from Lincolnshire and other regions of Britain, chicory, garlic, leeks, mint, onions, parsley, parsnips, radishes, seakale, sorrel and spring greens will be in season. Later on about mid April you will find spring cabbage, carrots, dandelion, wild garlic, kale, leeks, wild mushrooms, Jersey Royal potatoes, radishes, wild sorrel, spinach and watercress. Broad beans, peas, asparagus and caulis (cauliflowers) will be fresh in season towards the end of British springtime, instead of the Brunoise of vegetables.
Ingredients
- YOU WILL NEED FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 kilo 350 grams neck of lamb or stewing lamb
- 450 grams onions. coarsely chopped
- 1 large Carrot coarsely chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence (Provençal herbs). see my recipe
- 4 ½ cups Pinot Noir or other dry red wine. a good Gamay is great for this recipe though I have made it with a Nuits-St-Georges
- 3 cups good strong chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon butter. room temperature
- 2 teaspoons plain flour
- YOU WILL NEED FOR THE LAMB
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh thyme
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves. or to taste
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons olive oil. divided
- 3 by 650 grams well-trimmed 8-rib racks of lamb. preferably frenched (see note)
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