Another freezer surprise, a rack of New Zealand lamb! I have no idea, perhaps Baltimore, where I found these racks. Occasionally, I do find Australia lamb (not quite the same) but rarely New Zealand.
My herb garden has out done itself this year. It’s filled with thyme, 2 kinds of sage, basil, cilantro, tarragon, dill, parsley, fennel, oregano, rosemary and God knows what else! I am so pleased and I know the lamb was 🙂
Some one once said there’s no such thing as too much garlic. I think it was me 🙂 I really miss those big juicy bulbs of fresh garlic that appear seasonally in the Farmers’ Market in Sens. Oven roasted with vegetables or meats, those bulbs are delicious.
This herb, garlic and olive oil paste is also good tossed with hot pasta or just spread on a homemade deli sandwich with meat and cheese.
I spread the herb paste on both sides of the rack, gave it a few pokes with the knife end all over and refrigerated it for about an hour.
While the lamb was resting in the refrigerator, I put together a side of sugar snap peas, shallots and tomatoes.
I love these beans with the tiny pea surprise inside!
Whether a butterflied lamb leg or lamb racks, my favorite way to prepare them is on the grill and I reluctantly have to give kudos to my new, way over-priced Weber. The Char Broil grill in France works just as well and is less expensive but when I bought two Char Broils here, neither of them worked with the same efficiency! I was able to return one and just sold the other for $80 and was glad to get it.
Grilled Herb Crusted New Zealand Lamb Rack
1 New Zealand lamb rack or whatever lamb you can find
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Season the rack with salt and pepper. Place the herbs and garlic in a food processor and blend. With the machine running, slowly add the oil until the mixture is a thick paste.
Poke the rack all over with the point of a sharp knife, then spread the herb paste on both sides of the rack. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the grill to it’s maximum temperature, then quickly brown the fat side of the lamb on the hot grill. Turn off the flame in the center of the grill and place the lamb fat side up in the center. Turn the outside flames to about 400F, close the lid and cook for 12-15 minutes.
Sounds great. I will try this when I next see a rack of lamb at the supermarket. We can get good NZ lamb in the UK and local Lakeland or Welsh lamb is very good too. I did like your Scarborough Fair homage to Simon & Garfunkel with the herbs – “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”!! 😀
Thank you Chris. I’ve had Welsh lamb also and liked it too.
That looks delicious – I cooked some very nice lamb at huge barbecue last Sunday – not herb crust though!
Good lamb is so good that however you cook it, you can’t lose.
Absolutely luscious !!
Thank you.
Yum! Is this sort of a chimichuri?
Not really Rita. I’ve never made chimichuri but have read about it. Sounds pretty interesting. This is just a mixture of herbs from my garden with olive oil and garlic that I use mainly on meat. I add more olive oil and rub it on chicken before grilling.