Recipe of the Month - March 2017
Lamb Racks with Pressed Potatoes
Perfect for spring time
Provided by Emlyn Sexon, Life’s Kitchen Company Head Chef
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 x Racks of lamb (2 pairs of best ends), French trimmed
- 2 x garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 x Stalk of rosemary, needles stripped off and roughly chopped
- 8 tbsp light olive oil
- 1 x tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 2 1/2 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 1 kg peeled potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
- 1 tbsp Unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
For the lamb:
Put the racks of lamb in a china or glass baking dish, scatter the garlic and rosemary over the top, and drizzle with the olive oil. Leave to marinate for at least 4 hours (or overnight if you have the time), turning occasionally.
Preheat the oven to fan 200C/ conventional 220C/gas 7. Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over a moderately high heat and brown two of the racks well on the meaty sides for about 1-2 minutes, then turn and brown the other sides for a further 1 minute. Finally, brown the ends briefly so that all of the exposed meat is seared, remove.
Put the racks in a large roasting tin, standing them with their bones interlinked. Roast for about 8 minutes for very pink meat, 10 minutes for medium and 12-15 minutes for well-done.
Transfer the lamb to a warmed plate, cover loosely with foil, and allow to rest in a warm place for about 5 minutes before carving.
For the potatoes:
Preheat oven to fan 200C/ conventional 220C/gas 7 Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl. Melt the 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, In a cast-iron or ovenproof heavy skillet / dish, arrange a single layer of potato slices, slightly overlapping, in a circular pattern in the dish sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt mixture and some parsley.
Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon melted butter over potatoes. Repeat the layers 5 times, ending with butter. Press firmly to pack.
Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until potatoes are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool, loosen edges of potatoes with a spatula.
Place a plate upside down on top of pan; invert potatoes onto plate. Cut into four equal pieces,
To serve:
Place potatoes onto four plates, carve the racks of lamb into single bone chops and arrange onto each plate, serve with your favourite vegetables (peas or asparagus with some fresh mint this time of year would be perfect!) and some lamb gravy.
