The Lamb
I combined the root vegetables in an 8-inch square Pyrex baking pan. I didn't measure the seasonings or olive oil. Instead, I just eyeballed them to ensure good coverage.For my taste, you want a lot of coarse sea salt and oil. Roast in oven for 40-50 minutes, until veggies are done to your taste. I like them really soft, while my good wife likes them al dente. We sort of compromised tonight.
Meanwhile, divide the rack of lamb into 2 4-bone pieces. Using a long, narrow-bladed knife, starting at one end of each small rack of lamb, cut a slit in the center of each rack half, extending slit to opposite end of lamb, forming a tube. Spin the knife blade to widen the hole. Insert the handle of a wooden spoon into the slit, and twist to enlarge the slit as much as possible without breaking through the meat. Combine the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, tapenade, and pepper (eyeball it to taste) in a bowl. Fill hole in each lamb rack with the stuffing mixture, dividing it equally between them. Season the outside of each rack with salt and pepper.
Heat your 12-inch Le Creuset skillet over high heat until a drop of water skips. Add lamb racks, meat side down. Sear until browned (about three minutes), turn and brown the bone side (another 3 minutes). Transfer racks to a roasting rack set on a roasting pan. Transfer to oven and roast 20 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board, tent with foil, and allow to rest 10 minutes. Cut each 4 bone rack in half and serve with the root vegetables. You'll have enough veggies left over to reheat and serve with tomorrow night's meatloaf.
The stuffing drives the choice of wine, as it is the strongest flavor element in the meal. Lamb and olives immediately suggest Cabernet Sauvignon. But the salty intensity of the tapenade counsels against an old claret, whose flavor profile of cedar, tobacco, and leather likely would clash with the stuffing. Conversely, the astringent tannins of a young New World Cabernet also seem likely to clash with our stuffing. I opted for a 10 year old Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, whose tannins had mellowed but which retained plenty of fruit and also offered some earthy flavors of early maturity. It worked quite well.
- 1 8-bone rack of lamb, frenched and trimmed of fat and silver skin
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup tapenade
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and chopped fine
- 2 cloves garlic, minced very fine
- salt
- pepper
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 12 oz. assorted fingerling potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used a package of assorted organic potatoes, which included red-skinned, white, and purple potatoes)
- 4 baby golden beets, peeled
- 20 cloves garlic, peeled
- 8 cipollini onions, peeled
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- pepper
- Old Bay seasoning
- dried Italian herbs
I combined the root vegetables in an 8-inch square Pyrex baking pan. I didn't measure the seasonings or olive oil. Instead, I just eyeballed them to ensure good coverage.For my taste, you want a lot of coarse sea salt and oil. Roast in oven for 40-50 minutes, until veggies are done to your taste. I like them really soft, while my good wife likes them al dente. We sort of compromised tonight.
Meanwhile, divide the rack of lamb into 2 4-bone pieces. Using a long, narrow-bladed knife, starting at one end of each small rack of lamb, cut a slit in the center of each rack half, extending slit to opposite end of lamb, forming a tube. Spin the knife blade to widen the hole. Insert the handle of a wooden spoon into the slit, and twist to enlarge the slit as much as possible without breaking through the meat. Combine the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, tapenade, and pepper (eyeball it to taste) in a bowl. Fill hole in each lamb rack with the stuffing mixture, dividing it equally between them. Season the outside of each rack with salt and pepper.
Heat your 12-inch Le Creuset skillet over high heat until a drop of water skips. Add lamb racks, meat side down. Sear until browned (about three minutes), turn and brown the bone side (another 3 minutes). Transfer racks to a roasting rack set on a roasting pan. Transfer to oven and roast 20 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board, tent with foil, and allow to rest 10 minutes. Cut each 4 bone rack in half and serve with the root vegetables. You'll have enough veggies left over to reheat and serve with tomorrow night's meatloaf.
The stuffing drives the choice of wine, as it is the strongest flavor element in the meal. Lamb and olives immediately suggest Cabernet Sauvignon. But the salty intensity of the tapenade counsels against an old claret, whose flavor profile of cedar, tobacco, and leather likely would clash with the stuffing. Conversely, the astringent tannins of a young New World Cabernet also seem likely to clash with our stuffing. I opted for a 10 year old Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, whose tannins had mellowed but which retained plenty of fruit and also offered some earthy flavors of early maturity. It worked quite well.
