Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb | Winter Beginnings

In 2008, Mr. RGBistro gifted me with a bag of Narcissus bulbs for our first Christmas together, and on New Years’ Eve, we spent an entire day planting them, along with a carload of garden flowers and vegetables.

I didn’t know it at the time, but that “date” of a day was just the beginning of what was to come. I don’t recall everything that was planted, but I do remember picking up lots of herbs; thyme and rosemary in particular. And because Southern California winters are so mild, those same thyme and rosemary plants are still in the garden today.

So this winter, on a rare afternoon that we were home together, I spied some of that thyme and rosemary, grabbed some garden mint, and went to work on an herb-crusted rack of lamb.

And the lamb turned out beautifully. We paired it with mashed potatoes and a garden salad (with lettuce from the vegetable box).

Speaking of winter goods, we still have not one, but two Meyer lemon trees out back that are producing on high gear. In fact, every other day, we have another one of these baskets:

Friends, if you’d like some, just holler. Send us your address, and we’ll mail you a box. Serious. They’re too precious to waste, and we can’t keep up with the amount we get.

In the meantime, we wish you a beautiful new year.

Cheers!

[K]

Help us out – give us a recipe / suggestion for using up Meyer lemons?

Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

 

 

 

Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

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~ Serves 2 ~

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~ Ingredients ~

• 1 rack of lamb, well trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
• 2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• ½ tablespoon chopped fresh mint

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~ Preparation ~

Preparation Time: 40 minutes 2 hours 40 minutes

1. Bring rack of lamb up to room temperature.
2. Brush lamb with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs. Let rack of lamb sit at room temperature for one additional hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450˚F.
4. Place lamb, meat side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Mix breadcrumbs, garlic, butter, and mint in medium bowl. Press breadcrumb mixture onto meat side of lamb.
5. Roast until thermometer inserted into lamb registers 130˚F, about 20 17 minutes for medium-rare. Cut into chops.

Nutrition content per serving: 224calories, 0g carbs, 28g protein, 12g fat, 0g fiber

Cost per serving: $9.00- $12.00

 Source: Gerard’s Restaurant via Bon Appétit (January 2011). Contextually modified as noted by Rustic Garden Bistro.

Tagged as: Lamb, Mint, Rosemary, Thyme