Rack of Lamb With Chive Crust

evelyn/athens's Note:

A rack of lamb always means guests for dinner for me. An elegant presentation, but not a lot of work.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• ½ cup dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons chopped mint
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon, zest of
• 2 racks of lamb , each with 6 chops, trimmed
• 2 ounces butter , melted

Sauce

• ¼ cup white wine
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 ounces butter , cut into bits
• 1 tablespoon mint jelly

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.
3. A little water may be required if mixture is too dry.
4. Season lamb lightly and press breadcrumb mixture firmly over fatty side of racks.
5. Drizzle butter over crust.
6. Place lamb racks, crust side up, in a baking dish.
7. Bake for ¾- 1 hour.
8. Allow meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
9. Drain off all but 2 tblsps of juice in pan.
10. For Sauce: Place roasting pan on top of stove and stir wine and water into juices.
11. Bring to boil, stirring well.
12. Boil until reduced by half.
13. Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Remove from heat.
14. Whisk in butter, one bit at a time to emulsify the sauce.
15. Blend in mint jelly.

Reviews

[Chef #847760]

The lamb was excellent and the crust looked and tasted delicious. Next time I will add more chives as the flavour was almost too subtle. We went without the sauce as the lamb did not grace us with even a thimbleful of juice.

[Elkaybee]

I loved this!!I had to collect the mint and chives from the garden in the rain but it was well worth the effort. Super Easy and the sauce has a nice lemon tang which really complemented the lamb. I didn't have mint jelly but used mint sauce which worked but will try it again with the jelly. Yum.

[Scotland0303]

This was my first rack of lamb that I have cooked and thank you for this recipe. The crust was amazing...the sauce was amazing (I used the sauce on all of my meal, not just the lamb, it was so good! I only changed the way I cooked it in the over e.g., I cooked it on the highest oven setting for 10 minutes and then I turned the oven completely off and let it sit in the oven for an add'l 25 mins. (do not open oven door). It came out perfect.