“Fancy” Rack of Lamb

Last night I went on a culinary adventure and cooked my first rack of lamb. Rack of lamb always sounded so fancy to me, and was so pricy in restaurants – I naturally assumed that it would be both difficult and expensive to make. Wrong.

I bought the lamb at Costco for $14. It weighed 1.2 pounds and turned out to be more than enough to feed two people. Compare $7 per person here to about $30 per person that you would pay for this dish in a restaurant…what a steal. I whipped up some garlic mashed potatoes and broccolini to go with it, which were equally delicious. 

 The Lamb:

1 frenched rack of lamb, weighing 1-2 lbs
3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Ideally you should let lamb come to room temperature before cooking (about 1 hour on the counter).

2. Preheat oven to 350.

3. Coat the lamb in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and salt & pepper.

4. Cook for 30-35 minutes or until done. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

The Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

2 lbs or 3 large potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and diced large

6 cups water (to boil the potatoes)

1 teaspoon salt (to add in boiling water to cook the potatoes)

4 cloves peeled garlic (leave whole)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup grated Romano cheese (or can use Parmesan cheese)

2 tablespoons chopped chives (optional)

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium size saucepan, put diced potatoes, peeled garlic cloves and water and bring to a boil. Once the water boils, add the salt and cook potatoes until tender (usually 15-20 minutes).

2. Drain the water from the saucepan of cooked potatoes and garlic. While still piping hot, mash the potatoes and garlic until they reach desired consistency (I used a Kitchen Aid mixer).

3. Add the extra virgin olive oil and whipping cream and continue to mash/mix.

4. Mix in the grated cheese.

5. Season with salt & pepper and fold-in the chopped chives (optional).

Serves 3-4, adapted from this recipe.

The Broccolini:

1 bunch broccolini

Coarse salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 to 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Trim broccolini ends.

2. Place the stalks into a skillet and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil.

3. Add salt and reduce heat. Simmer broccolini 6 to 7 minutes, until tender and bright green.

4. Drain the broccolini and return skillet to stove over medium heat.

5. Add olive oil to pan, then garlic. Cook garlic 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Add broccolini to pan and coat in garlic and oil then serve.