Mustard and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

Active time: 25min
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr
Makes: 8 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fine fresh bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 frenched racks of lamb (8 ribs and 1 1/2 lb each rack), trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat, then brought to room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

Preparation

Stir together bread crumbs, parsley, mint, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a bowl, then drizzle with 2 1/2 tablespoons oil and toss until combined well.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 400°F.

Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb 1 rack at a time, turning once, about 4 minutes per rack. Transfer to a 13- by 9- by 2-inch roasting pan, arranging fatty sides up.

Spread fatty sides of each rack with 2 teaspoons mustard. Divide bread crumb mixture into 3 portions and pat each portion over mustard coating on each rack, gently pressing to adhere.

Roast lamb until thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into center (do not touch bone) registers 130°F (for medium-rare), 20 to 25 minutes, and transfer to a cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes, then cut into chops.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Fennel Butter

If you don't have a heavy roasting pan, you can brown and roast the lamb in a large ovenproof skillet with two-inch-high sides. The seasoned butter can be prepared one day before using. What to drink: A red Bordeaux is the classic accompaniment to roast lamb. Other full-bodied reds, such as Burgundy or an aged Rioja, would also complement this menu.

Makes: 6 to 8 Servings

Seasoned butter:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed in plastic bag with mallet
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary

Lamb:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 6- to 6 1/2-pound bone-in leg of lamb, well trimmed
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 1/3 cups low-salt chicken broth
• Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Preparation

For seasoned butter: Mix all ingredients with fork in medium bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

For lamb: Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Pour 2 tablespoons oil into large roasting pan. Place pan directly atop 2 burners over medium-high heat. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Add lamb to pan and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Remove pan from heat. Brush lamb with half of seasoned butter.

Roast lamb 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F; continue roasting until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 40 minutes longer. Transfer to platter; tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes.

Skim off fat from drippings in roasting pan. Place pan atop 2 burners over high heat. Add wine and broth. Boil until mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 13 minutes. Whisk in remaining seasoned butter (sauce will be thin). Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnish lamb with rosemary sprigs, if desired. Serve with sauce.

Meat Pie

Makes: 6 Servings for dinner or 12 as appetizers

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground lamb
• 8 scallions
• 1/3 C butter
• 2 tsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 eggs, beaten
• ½ C whole wheat toast crumbs
• 1 C grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg
• ½ C pine nuts
• ¾ lb filo leaves
• ¾ cup olive oil

Preparation

Sauté the lamb and onions lightly in butter (or olive oil, if you prefer). Do not brown. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients except pastry sheets, mixing well. Brush the bottom and sides of a 13 by 9 inch pan and line with six filo sheets, brushing each with olive oil. Pastry must come up the sides of dish. Pour in meat filling and top with remaining filo sheets, brushing each with oil. Roll pastry sheets at edges to seal. Score the top three layers of pastry into diamond shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

This dish can be prepared with half the ingredients and baked in pie plate lined and topped with conventional pie pastry.

Souvlaki

This is a dish best eaten outside at a Greek taverna with the Mediterranean lapping gently a few feet away. It also works outside in any backyard. It’s quick and easy to prepare and adds only minimal flavors to the meat in keeping with the Greek preference to taste the essence of each food.

Makes: 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lamb cut into one-inch cubes
• ½ C olive oil
• 1/4 C lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• oregano

Preparation

Combine lamb, oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper and let stand for an hour. Thread lamb cubes onto skewers and grill over glowing coals until done, turning once. Sprinkle with fresh oregano while still warm.

Accompany with cucumber yogurt sauce.

Greek Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 med. cucumber, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 C yogurt
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp chopped dill
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Preparation

Mix all ingredients together. Chill at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to blend. Serve as a dip or a sauce.

Lamb Chops

Lamb chops are one of the most familiar and certainly one of the most delicious ways to prepare lamb. They can be grilled outdoors or prepared indoors on the stove. The Italian way with lamb is to begin with rosemary and garlic.

Makes: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 8 lamb chops, cut one inch thick
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• ¼ C olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. salt

Preparation

Begin the night before you plan to cook and serve the chops. Combine all ingredients in a sealable plastic bag. Roll chops around in bag until they are evenly coated. Marinate in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Outdoors, cook chops three minutes on each side over hot coals. Inside cook on a skillet with a grid or on a stove top grill which has been lightly oiled and heated to a medium to high temperature. Cook three minutes on each side or until the chops feel almost firm when pressed with a finger. Chops should be pink on inside for medium-rare.

Lamb Chops with Crushed Pepper

The French are not a people to allow a food as delicious as lamb chops to go to table without adding their own inimitable touch. After all, where did “frenched” chops come from? (A frenched chop is one that has had the end of the bone denuded of meat and fat, a process best left to one’s butcher.) Think of this recipe as steak au poivre done with lamb.

Makes: 2 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 lamb chops, cut one inch thick
• 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• ½ C chicken broth
• 1 Tbs Cognac
• 2 tsp butter

Preparation

Coarsely crush peppercorns. Pat chops dry and sprinkle with salt. Press crushed peppercorns into one side of chops. Heat oil in a skillet to moderately high and put chops in, peppered sides up. Cook two minutes then turn chops and cook two minutes on the other side, pressing down with tongs to make pepper adhere. Chops will be medium rare at this point. Transfer chops to plate.

Pour off all but 4 teaspoons of fat from skillet, then sauté shallot until golden brown, about ½ minute. Add broth and Cognac and boil until sauce is reduced to half. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Pour over lamb.

Leg of Lamb

A leg or shoulder of lamb is the hostess’ best friend. It can serve six to eight people, can be cooked ahead, is melt-in-the-mouth succulent and impresses everybody. The best way is the Italian way.

Makes: 8 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 7 to 8 lb leg of lamb, aitchbone removed
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 Tbsp salt
• ¼ C. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1/3 C beef broth

Preparation

Leg should be trimmed of fat and the aitchbone removed. The butcher will do this and tie the leg into an easy to handle bundle.

Make a paste of the garlic and salt and mix with pepper and rosemary. Cut small slits in leg and stuff with paste. Rub whole leg with minced garlic and olive oil. Wrap tightly in foil and let stand in refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours. (This could be done the night before and allowed to marinate for 24 hours.)

Place lamb in an oiled roasting pan and cook in the middle of a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 1½ to 3 hours, depending on size. When an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 130 degrees, remove from oven. Lamb will be medium rare at this temperature. Let stand for 20 minutes before cutting.

Add broth to pan and deglaze. Season pan juices and serve with lamb.

Southwest Rack of Lamb

Rack of Lamb is the next step up the scale of luxury and elegance in lamb dishes. A rack is a section of 7 to 8 ribs which may be prepared by rubbing or marinating in herbs and spices then roasted. While the traditional Italian treatment can be used on a rack as it is on chops or a leg roast, the rack lends itself to other treatments as well as in this southwestern recipe.

Makes: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 racks of lamb, each 11/2 lb to 2 pounds
• ¼ C chile seeds (any variety but not smoked)
• ¾ tsp aniseed
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 1 1-inch piece cinnamon stick
• 2 whole cloves

Preparation

Racks must be frenched (trimmed between bones). Toast chile seeds in a skillet over medium to high heat for about three minutes, tossing in pan to avoid scorching. When cool, transfer to a spice grinder along with other spices and grind fine. Lightly salt lamb racks and rub with spices. Allow to sit, covered, for 30 minutes. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place racks, bone side down on oiled, heavy back sheet with low rim. Roast lamb until thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 125 degrees for medium-rare, about 25 minutes. Let lamb rest 5 minutes. Cut into chops and serve with a peach or mango salsa.

Crown Roast of Lamb

With the crown roast of lamb, we have arrived at the royalty of lamb dishes. A dish fit for a king, it is two full racks, frenched, tied in a round and roasted. Creative cooks will fill its center with a stuffing featuring artichokes or chestnuts, depending on whether the chef is Italian or French. If French, each bone of the racks will be wearing little white fringes. There are few dishes in any cuisine which occasions the oohs and ahs that accompany the arrival at table of a crown roast. The preparation is the same as for a rack: Seasoned with chosen herbs and spices and roasted to a medium-rare temperature. The frenching and tying are best done by a good butcher.

Braised Lamb Shanks

While the simpler lamb recipes, such as grilled chops or roast rack of lamb, rely principally on the sheer force of the meat’s flavor, lamb shanks add a new dimension. The ingredients and preparation of this dish add a complexity to the natural earthiness and succulence of lamb at which the most discriminating diner can only marvel. It has the additional advantage of lending itself to advance preparation allowing the hosts to enjoy their time with their guests. Serve along with a salad, a loaf of crusty bread and a light dessert.

Makes: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 large lamb shanks
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chopped rosemary
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

Preparation

Do not use the smaller, sliced shanks. They are unsuitable to this recipe.

Combine the spices and rub them into the shanks. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Sauce

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 ounces pancetta, thinly sliced
• 1 C chopped carrots
• ½ C chopped celery
• 1 C chopped onion
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 small bay leaves
• 3 3x1/2-inch strip lemon peel
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 C dry white wine
• 2 C drained canned diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 C chicken broth

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large, ovenproof pot, heat oil to medium-high. Add shanks and sauté until brown. Transfer to a plate. Add chopped pancetta to pan and stir for one minute. Add all the vegetables except tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, stirring. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add lemon peel, bay leaves and thyme. Add wine and bring to a boil. Scrape up brown bits. Add tomatoes and broth and return lamb to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and put in oven. Cook lamb until tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Remove pot from oven. At this point the mixture can be allowed to cool and the fat skimmed off. It can be kept in the refrigerator overnight and brought out an hour before serving. Place over medium heat and cook until shanks are very tender, 30 minutes or longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove lemon peel and bay leaves.

Gremolata

• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Mix three ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over shanks in their serving dish.

Lamb Curry

Great lamb dishes are not the sole province of the Greeks and the Italians. Lamb thrives from the harsh highlands of Scotland to the desserts of North Africa and the high altitudes of the Middle East. The English found lamb curry in their wanderings around the globe and brought it home with them. This recipe is from Malaysia.

Makes: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 shallots, peeled
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 C thick coconut milk
• 1 ½ lbs lamb cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1-inch cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves

Preparation

Mince the shallot and garlic and put in blender with 2 tbs coconut milk and process for 15 seconds. Add salt to mixture and pour in bowl with lamb. Allow lamb to marinate for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a skillet and fry onions gently until soft. Add the spices and stir fry for two minutes. Add the lamb and fry for 2 minutes more. Add salt and pepper, cover and cook very slowly for 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes to prevent burning. Add remaining coconut milk and simmer for 40 minutes or until lamb is tender. Adjust seasonings. Serve with rice, and the condiments of yoghurt sauce, coconut and chutney.

Shepherd's Pie

This recipe is British in origin and is a warming, filling and delicious dish on a cold winter day.

Makes: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 10 oz pearl onion
• 4 medium leeks, cut in ½-inch slices
• 2 lbs lamb cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 ½ Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
• ½ C dry white wine
• 1 ½ Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 C beef broth
• 1 C. water
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 5 carrots, cut into 1/3-inch pieces

Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lb russet potatoes
• ½ C heavy cream
• ½ C milk
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Preparation

Pat lamb dry. Salt and pepper lamb and put in a plastic bag with tablespoons flour and shake to coat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a flame proof casserole dish and brown half of lamb, turning, about 6 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Transfer to another bowls and repeat with second half of lamb. Add wine to casserole and deglaze over high heat, stirring up brown bits for one minute. Then add tomato paste and boil until liquid is reduced by half. Add broth, water, thyme, lamb with accumulated juices, onions, leeks, carrots and remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to simmer, then cover with lid and put in 350 degree oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Adjust seasonings.

While filling cooks, make topping. Peel and cut potatoes, cover with cold salted water in heavy pot. Simmer, uncovered until very tender, 25 minutes. Drain into a colander. Bring cream, milk and butter to a simmer in same pot over moderate heat. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper. Force hot potatoes through ricer into hot cream mixture and stir. Keep warm and covered.

Stir together remaining 1 ½ tablespoons butter and remaining 2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl to form a paste. Put one cup cooking liquid from casserole into a small pan and add butter paste. Whisk and simmer until thickened.

Spoon potatoes over lamb casserole and spread evenly. Broil about 3 inches from heat until golden.