Rack of Lamb with Herb and Garlic Sauce

Tips to get you started:

· I use Costco’s New Zealand lamb, which comes unseasoned.

· This recipe uses a blender to create a smooth sauce, it would also work to finely chop all the sauce ingredients and mix them with the EVOO and vinegar.

· Use extreme caution when handling the hot pan, especially when removing it from the oven! Trust me, it hurts if you forget to cover that handle!

Prep time: 20 - 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 - 40 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 Rack of Frenched lamb, about 1.5-2.0 lbs.

½ Teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

½ Teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

Avocado oil spray

For the sauce:

1 Bunch parsley, washed and ends trimmed off

5 Garlic cloves, fresh, peeled

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 Rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped from the stems and stems discarded

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Part one: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Remove lamb from any packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Spray both sides lightly with avocado oil spray.

Part two: Make the sauce while the lamb rests and comes up slightly in temperature. Place all sauce ingredients into an electric blender and blend on medium for about 20 seconds, then scrape the sides of the blender to get any unmixed ingredients down and blend again for another 20-30 seconds. Set aside about ¼ cup of the sauce for serving. Set the sauce aside while you sear off the lamb.

Part three: Heat a cast iron pan or other oven safe skillet style pan over high heat. When the pan is very hot, place the lamb rack in the pan and sear off each side, about 2 minutes per side including a brief sear on the sides of the rack. I use tongs to help hold the lamb in place while the ends are searing.

Part four: Remove the pan from heat and brush a generous amount of sauce on the lamb on both sides of the rack. Discard any remaining sauce that has been in contact with raw lamb or utensils used to brush the sauce onto the lamb.

Part five: Move the sauced lamb in the pan to the preheated oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the interior of the rack reaches 145 degrees F and the fat is rendering to become gelatinous. Remove from oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before cutting into individual rib portions.

Serving suggestion: Serve with a drizzle of the reserved sauce for a bright, finished plate. We enjoyed this with some smashed (mashed potato style) roasted garlic cauliflower.

Tiny chefs at home? They can help:

· Measure ingredients

· Strip the rosemary leaves

· Peel the garlic

Nutrition information: Total Calories: 589 // Total Fat: 46 g // Cholesterol: 110 mg // Sodium: 412 mg // Total Carbohydrates: 2 // Dietary Fiber: 0 g // Sugars: 0 g // Protein: 40 g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.