Feta Stuffed Rack Of Lamb With Pumpkin Seed Crust And Chipotle Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Well in advance (anywhere from 2 hours to a week) of making the lamb, combine the butter, yolks, bread crumbs, rosemary, mustard seed and Dijon mustard in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until thoroughly mixed. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Using a spatula, spoon the mustard crust mixture into the pan, smooth the surface, and place in the refrigerator. Allow to chill until solid.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
• Season the lamb with the salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Place the racks, meat side down, in the skillet, and brown for 2 to 3 minutes to a crispy brown coating. Turn over. Cook 1 minute more on the bone side. Remove from the saute pan or skillet, and place in a roasting pan. Place the racks in the oven and cook 8 to 10 minutes for medium rare.
• While the lamb is roasting, remove the mustard crust by lifting the plastic wrap out of the loaf pan. You should now have a slab of seasoned mustard crust. Cut the loaf of herb butter into 1/2 inch thick slices. Refrigerate them until the lamb has cooked for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lamb from the oven, lay the slabs of seasoned mustard crust on the meat side of the lamb, and press the butter with your finger tips to help it to adhere to the meat. Return the lamb to the oven for 5 minutes more to allow the butter to form a crust. Remove the racks from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into individual chops or 4rib rack portions.

Steps:

• To make the Marinade: Zest the lemon with a fine grater, taking care to only remove the yellow peel¿the white pith beneath it is bitter. Use the lemon juice for cocktails, or splash a bit into the marinade if you really love citrus. Mix all the marinade ingredients together.
• To make the Stuffing: Mix the stuffing ingredients together.
• To prepare the Lamb: Cut the rack in 1/2 crosswise so that each piece contains 4 chops. Insert a long, skinny knife into 1 end of the meat and push it through until the tip emerges from the other end. Then, remove the knife and use the handle of a wooden spoon to ream out a 1/2-inch hole, forming a tube through the 4 chops. With your fingers, press half the stuffing into the rack, making sure it's distributed evenly. Repeat with the other half of lamb.
• Place the lamb in a zipper baggie, spoon the marinade onto the meat, and rub it in a little bit. Marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Roast the chops for 25 minutes for medium rare, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 135 degrees F. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes (during which they continue cooking, and the juices run back to the center). Slice into individual chops, if you like, fan across the plate, garnish with a rosemary sprig, and serve.

Steps:

• Marinate the lamb first. Put the racks into a non-metallic dish and mix the thyme, oil, lemon zest, garlic and half the oregano in a bowl. Rub this all over the lamb, then leave to marinate for at least 30 mins or up to 24 hrs. It's important that you cook the lamb from room temperature rather than fridge cold, so if you're cooking within 1 hr or so, leave it out of the fridge.
• For the sauce, finely chop the parsley stalks. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan or wide casserole, then add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and the stalks, then soften for 1 min. Add the tomatoes and remaining oregano, then simmer for 5 mins until saucy, popping the cherry tomatoes with your wooden spoon to release all the juices and seeds. Chop the parsley leaves roughly and add half to the pan. Heat oven to 230C/fan 210C/ gas 8. Make the crust by mixing the remaining parsley leaves, feta, zest, oregano and breadcrumbs in a bowl.
• When you're ready to cook the lamb, leave most of the tasty marinade on the meat, season it well with salt and freshly ground pepper, then press the crust onto one side of each piece. Sit the racks in the sauce, with the crust-side facing upwards. Strew the thyme sprigs from the marinade over the lamb and into the sauce, then drizzle everything with a little extra virgin olive oil. Roast the lamb in the sauce, uncovered, for 20 mins (for pink and juicy meat) until the crust is golden and the sauce thickened. Leave to rest for 10 mins, loosely covered, so that the crust doesn't go soggy, then carve the lamb between each bone to make cutlets. Serve the crusted cutlets with spoonfuls of the intense, roasted-down tomato sauce, and the Easy buttered onion pilaf and Lemony greens (recipes below). Garnish with thyme.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degreees F.
• Rub the fat covered side of the lamb with the mustard.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic, feta and parsley.
• Season the lamb with salt and pepper and then pat the crumb mixture over the mustars and over the sides of the lamb.
• Place on a baking sheet and roast until desired degree of doneness. Medium-rare will take about 30 minutes.
• Let meat stand for 10 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Oil heavy large baking sheet. Toss garlic with 2 teaspoons corn oil in small bowl. Transfer to baking sheet. Roast 6 minutes. Add pumpkin seeds; toss to coat. Roast until seeds and garlic are golden brown, stirring once, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to rack; cool. Maintain oven temperature. Transfer garlic-pumpkin seed mixture to processor. Grind until coarse puree forms. Mix in remaining 2 teaspoons corn oil. Using long sharp knife and starting at 1 end of lamb, cut slit in center of each lamb rack half, extending slit to opposite end of lamb. Insert handle of wooden spoon into slit, enlarging slit to 3/4-inch-diameter hole. Combine feta, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and cilantro in large bowl. Fill hole in each lamb rack with feta mixture, dividing equally. Transfer lamb to prepared baking sheet. Spread mustard over rounded side of lamb; press 1/4 of pumpkin seed coating into mustard on each lamb rack half. Roast lamb until meat thermometer inserted near center of lamb registers 135°F. for medium-rare, about 25 minutes. Let lamb rest 15 minutes. Spoon 1/3 cup Chipotle Sauce onto each plate. Place 1 lamb rack half atop sauce on each plate. Serve, passing re-maining sauce separately. Chipotle Sauce Heat 1 tablespoon corn oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add roasted peppers, onion, celery, carrot and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup beef stock and 1/2 cup apple juice and simmer uncovered over medium heat 15 minutes. Add whipping cream and chipotle chilies and simmer 5 minutes longer. Transfer sauce to blender. Puree until smooth. Strain sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin sauce with more stock and apple juice if necessary. (Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm sauce over low heat before using.)