Frenched lamb racks have had the fat and meat between the ribs removed and the bones have been scraped clean, so they look rather fancy. Regular lamb racks will work as well in this very tasty dish.
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 frenched racks lamb, (8 cutlets in each rack)
- 4 roma tomatoes
- balsamic vinegar, to drizzle
- olive oil, to drizzle
- 2 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- extra 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp French mustard
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp dried mint flakes
- mashed potato to serve
Minted ricotta- 150 g fresh ricotta
- ⅓ cup cream
- ⅓ cup finely chopped mint
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Halve tomatoes lengthways, place on a tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Cook for 30 minutes. Then add the asparagus to the baking tray and brush lightly with olive oil. Bake for a further 15 minutes or until the tomatoes and asparagus are tender. Remove from oven. Increase the oven temperature to 200ºC.
- Place the lamb racks in roasting dish. Smear each rack with the combined extra olive oil, mustard, garlic and mint. Roast for 20 minutes for rare, 30 minutes for medium and 40 minutes for well done.
- Remove lamb, cover loosely, rest lamb for 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut racks in pairs and serve 2 pairs on each plate and drizzle with any pan juices. Arrange the tomatoes and asparagus on the side and top with the minted ricotta. Serve with mashed potato.
To make minted ricotta: mix the ricotta and cream until smooth. Add the mint and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Essential tips
- Suggested roasting times for Rack of lamb, four rib roast, crown roast. Cook at 200ºC. Rare 20-25 min total regardless of weight, Medium 30-35 min total regardless of weight, Well done 40-45 min total regardless of weight.
- Roasts need to rest for about 10 to 20 minutes before carving. This gives the juices in the meat a chance to redistribute, giving a moister and more tender result.
