French Rack of Lamb with Honey-Parsley Marinade, Potato Purée and Pickled Beets

I was a rack of lamb virgin. Embarrassing, right? 28-years-old and I’d never seared an expensive piece of meat with the ribs sticking out like boney fingers. I bet that’s not what you think when you order it in a restaurant — bony fingers — but I do. Which is mostly why I didn’t care. But I’ve been coming around to steak-like meats (the well-raised, relatively sustainable, special-occasion-only kind) and I’d promised someone a rack of lamb dinner…

And a promise is a promise.

But what’s crazy is that in all my cookbook collection, I had only one recipe for rack of lamb! Lots of chops (when the rack is sliced), but no whole or partial racks. Nothing in the Joy of Cooking, nothing in The New York Times Essential Cookbook and nothing in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Maybe I missed that chapter? I figured the French-ness of the French rack would ensure its place of glory in those books, at least the latter two. But it seems NYT readers are as frugal as post-depression Americans. For Child, I have no explanation.

What makes the rack so French? Scraping the sides of the bones so that they jut up into the air (the aforementioned fingers). Your butcher can do it for you, if he’s trained in French butchering. Fortunately, every butcher at the Atwater Market is trained in French butchering. I didn’t even have to ask. There it was in the counter display already frenched.

The one cookbook I did have with a recipe for rack of lamb was Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. I specifically wanted a recipe that called for a marinade because I’m still working my way into the world of tough meats. Yes, yes, yes I know, cuts like this should be tender, but I grew up on beef that tasted like rubber, so I’m taking this meat thing slowly. I’m lowering my risk of failure and resulting retreat to a lentil-heavy diet.

Besides, it ain’t cheap, this lamb. I found “Discovery racks” at Boucherie de Tours in Atwater that were much more reasonably priced than the other stalls. May you be so lucky.

Marinated Rack of Lamb with Cilantro and Honey

I can’t give this recipe as Tamimi will kick my ass (a.k.a. yell at me on Twitter), but basically you blend  parsley, cilantro and mint (stalks and leaves) with garlic, ginger, seeded chilies, salt, lemon juice, soy sauce, sunflower oil, water and red wine vinegar (I used raspberry flavoured and it worked fine. Didn’t taste the raspberry, thank goodness). Cut the rack into 3 chops each. Marinate overnight.Reserve the marinade, then sear the meat and bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes (use that meat thermometre. Or press your thumb against the lamb flesh. It shouldn’t be soft but should have a tiny bit of give.) Bring the marinade to a boil and simmer 5 minutes for a sauce.

 

Potato Purée non à la Robuchon

This is not a Robuchon recipe. There is not a pound of butter involved. Instead, it’s light and fresh and balances the richness of the lamb. Use red-skinned potatoes if you can. But use whatever potato you feel like. Starchy, non-starchy. Nobody’s looking. Toss 5 or 6 whole, unpeeled ones in a pot of boiling water. Add a tbsp of salt. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until you can stick a form in the biggest one easily. It should slide right in. Drain, reserving a 1/2 cup of water. Rinse in cold water, and when cool enough, peel. Then grate the potatoes through a cheese grater. Add:

2 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp minced parsley
reserved water until you have the consistency you want. I like them drier because you taste more of the Dijon that way
salt to taste (remember there’s salt in the water already)

Serve warm or refrigerate.

Pickled Beets

When a farmer sells you a bag of golden and purple organic beets at the end of the season for pennies, you pickle them. It’s really not a choice. Multiply the recipe for the amount of beets you have.

2lb (1kg) beets
1.6 litres water
600ml white wine, cider or distilled white vinegar
6 tbsp salt
5 bay leaves
2 tsp whole peppercorns

Directions:

Wash the beets and boil them, unpeeled, in a large pot of water for about 25 minutes (or until a fork goes in easily. Smaller beets may take less time). When cooked, drain and rinse under cold water. When cool, peel the beets and cut them into thin slices (about 1/8″. But a quarter-inch is fine). Divide between clean jars, filling each to just below the lip, or if there’s no lip, an inch below the rim.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the beets. Cover (if the lids are two-piece mason jar lids), or cover loosely if it’s a one-piece twist lid (you don’t want the jar to explode because of the heat!) and cool on the counter. Refrigerate overnight. You can eat them after they cool, too, but they’re best after they have time to absorb the marinade. They’ll keep about three weeks in the fridge as long as you don’t contaminate them by double-dipping.

 

To plate the meal, make a bed of potatoes in the middle of the plate. Make a well in the bed. Place one section of rack on the potatoes. Line one side of the purée with slices of beets. Place a tbsp of the boiled marinade on the opposite side. Take a deep breath and use a spoon to pull the sauce along the side of the plate in a quick, confident stroke. Don’t worry. It’ll get easier.