| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground fennel
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 racks of lamb, frenched, fat caps trimmed
- 4 cups fresh mint leaves
- 2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, with some tender stems
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 green onions, green and light green parts only, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 Fresno chile, seeded, deveined and roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Instructions
- For the lamb: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, coriander, cumin and fennel.
- Drizzle the olive oil over both sides of the racks of lamb, then evenly apply the dry rub all over the lamb.
- Using a sharp knife, make cuts between each of the rib bones on the back sides of the racks to allow the straight racks to be flexible and formed into a crown.
- Tie the 2 racks together where they meet. Lift them so that the bare bones point upward and fashion them into a crown, then secure by tying twine around the bottom and midsection.
- Place the crown roast onto a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast until a thermometer inserted into the meat (avoid touching bone) registers 110 degrees F, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
- For the pesto: Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the mint, cilantro, almonds, salt, green onions, garlic and chile. Pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary, until finely chopped. With the machine running, add 3/4 cup of the olive oil in a steady stream.
- Pour the pesto into a bowl. Add the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil and the lemon juice. Season to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside, or refrigerate (bring to room temperature 30 minutes prior to serving the lamb).
- Remove the lamb from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees F.
- Place a sheet of foil over the bones to keep them from burning. Roast the lamb until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop reaches 125 degrees F for medium-rare or 135 degrees F for medium, an additional 10 minutes. Tent the lamb with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the twine and carve into chops; serve with pesto on the side.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1159 |
| Total Fat | 119 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 43 mg |
| Sodium | 692 mg |
Reviews
It was amazing and the pesto sauce was the perfect accompaniment!
This was delicious! Really wasn’t too difficult.