Whole Roasted Rack of Lamb with Loose Ratatouille
Serves: 3
Time: 40 mins
Lamb rack is one of my all time favourite cuts of meat, juicy and delicious you really don’t need to do much to it, so a little rosemary and some salt and pepper are all that I am adding tonight. It’s to be served with a loose ratatouille (or you could call it a roasted vegetable salad). This is a meal where you let the ingredients shine. It is super easy to make and so delicious you could serve it up when entertaining.
Leftovers
This one is fantastic for leftovers. Depending on whether or not you have saved some lamb, you might need to bulk it up with something, like a soft wrap and some hummus.
What you'll need
Choosing your lamb
When roasting a lamb rack I like to choose a cut that has the french cap still on. This means it still has all that beautiful fat still on the bone, which is going to render through to the meat making it delish and juicy. The supermarkets tend to take all the fat off so maybe try a good butcher for this one, or Sydney folk, you can get brilliant grass fed lamb racks from Harris farm with the french cap still on.
The Pot or The Packet?
Rosemary is a hard herb which does keep for a relatively long time in the fridge, but why not buy it in a small plant? it will last much longer if well cared for, and perfect for those occassions when you just need a few sprigs
1 x full rack of lamb french cap on approx 850g-1kg
3 sprigs rosemary
2 red peppers
2 zucchini
1 large eggplant
1 red onion
¼ bunch flat leaf parsley
1/2 bunch of basil
1 packet baby vine tomatoes
100g olives
From the pantry
olive oil
salt and pepper
Option for Vego’s
halloumi would work nicely instead of lamb
Optional Extra for Lunch
wraps
hummus
Prep and Cook
Preheat oven to 200c
Remove lamb from the fridge and take off any wrapping. Allow to come to room temp.
Prepare Veggies
Cut eggplant into large chunky bite sizes and place in a mixing bowl.
Chop zucchini into pieces of a relatively similar size and add these to the same bowl.
Deseeding Peppers
Cut in half and pull out the big chunk of seeds. Turn the pepper over and tap against your palm, this will remove excess seeds. Pull off any remaining white bits as you chop it up.
Slice your red peppers in half and remove the core, cut into large pieces and add to the rest of your veg.
Peel your onion and cut into ten segments and add to the bowl.
Add enough oil to lightly coat everything (about 3 tablespoons possibly more as eggplant soaks it all up). Add salt and pepper.
Using your hands, toss everything until it's coated really well and scatter it all out onto a large oven tray lined with baking paper.
Place the tray in the oven to roast for 30 minutes.
Cook Lamb
Place a large oven-safe fry pan on high heat with about a teaspoon of oil. If you don’t have an oven-safe fry pan that will fit the lamb rack then once it has been sealed off transfer to an oven tray.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of your lamb. Roughly chop the rosemary and rub into both sides.
When your pan is cranking hot lay the lamb fat side down for 3 minutes (turn the heat down if you are smoking hard) turn over and fry for another minute.
Place low in the oven and cook for 25 minutes. An 850g rack will be MR (medium rare) if your rack is closer to 950g add another 5 minutes.
Pull out your tray of veggies and scatter over the olives and baby tomatoes. Return to the oven.
When the lamb has finished cooking remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Check your veg, they should be ready, if not leave in until soft to the bite.
Plate it Pretty
Wash and pick the parsley and basil and sprinkle over your hot veg mix.
Pile a nice chunky portion across two-thirds of each serving plate.
Carve your rack slicing down every second bone. Serve beside ratatouille.
Enjoy!
Want to eat delicious meals every week?
Lunch tomorrow
Leftovers from this dish are pretty substantial and great to stick in a bit of tupperware ready to go for lunch tomorrow.