Roast rack of lamb with crushed potatoes

Juicy roasted lamb rack, bursting with flavour

This roast rack of lamb with crushed potatoes is easily done in just an hour. Bonus.

• SERVES: 4
• PREP TIME: 10 mins
• COOK TIME: 55 mins
• DIFFICULTY: pretty easy
• IDEAL FOR:  Sunday lunch, special occasion

And it’s one of the tastiest meals you can whip up, in my opinion.

But a rack of lamb can be expensive so it’s one to have as a treat.

How to cook a rack of lamb

Also known as the ‘best end of neck’.

And it’s a tender cut with a delicate flavour that would suffocate in a rich, heavy sauce.

Cooking lamb rack is best done in its simplest form.

So, sear it in a pan first to get a lovely brown crust full of flavour, then finish it in the oven.

And of course, you can add a lovely crust – a few ideas below – or simply season with salt and pepper.

As always, take the lamb out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature before cooking.

And rest your meat after cooking.

Internal temperature of cooked lamb

Lamb racks are ideally cooked no more than medium rare.

I like to use a meat thermometer to get it just perfect.

Internal temperature for:

• Medium rare (pink): 57°C/135°F out of oven – it will rise to 60°C / 145°F while resting which is medium rare;
• Rare (red) – 47°C / 117°F out of oven. It will rise while resting to 52°C/125°F which is rare.

How do you make your crust stick to the lamb

You basically need to ensure you have a ‘sticking agent’ in your crust mix.

So, for example, it could be mustard or just olive oil, smeared onto the lamb before you add the crust mix.

Make sure you sear the lamb first to get that nice caramelised crust with loads of flavour.

Smear with mustard or oil to act as the “glue” for the crumb.

Then press the rack onto the breadcrumb mixture.

Et voila!

Two classic lamb crust recipe ideas

1. Garlic-crusted roast rack of lamb

Not so much as a crust but more of a delicious marinade-crust.

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic (cloves peeled)
• ¼ cup rosemary leaves
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In a mini food processor, combine the garlic, rosemary and olive oil and process until the garlic is finely chopped.
2. Season the lamb racks with salt and pepper and rub the garlic-rosemary oil all over them.
3. Set the racks fat side up on a large rimmed baking sheet and let stand for 1 hour.

2. Mustard-herb crust

This is a Martha Stewart recipe for a tasty crust.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Method

1. In a small bowl, combine mustard and garlic.
2. In a wide shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, rosemary, and dried herbs; whisk to combine.
3. Pat lamb chops dry with a paper towel and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
4. With a basting brush, lightly coat lamb chops with mustard mixture, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Recipe: Jamie Oliver

For more lamb recipes, visit here.