Inspiration
The Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, CA, inspired me to get home and try out some fresh garlic I purchased from the show. This Mediterranean-style dish, Grilled Garlic Lamb Rack with a Ragout of Vegetables, features garlic throughout. The first step is to trim the lamb chop of excess fat, if necessary, and to clean the rib bones for presentation after grilling. The second step is to make the garlic-infused marinade. I’m emulsifying the garlic, rosemary, white wine in an egg and olive oil mixture, similar to a loose aioli.
Grilling/Searing
In this case, I’m using direct searing. First, remove the lamb rack from the marinade and remove as much of the marinade as you can. Then sear the lamb rack over high heat on the grill. Turn the rack often to char and caramelize for complete coverage. I will hold the rack on its end over the grill with a pair of tongs. Once the lamb rack is fully marked, I will reserve it on a sheet pan until I need it for service. Next, I preheat my oven to (400°F or 205°C) degrees, and when I’m ready, I will finish the lamb rack off by reaching an internal temperature of 130 degrees (medium rare) with an instant-read meat thermometer.
Grilled garlic lamb rack with a ragout of vegetables
To make the lamb marinade start with peeling and chopping garlic and rosemary.
Emulsify garlic, rosemary, whole egg, white wine in a food processor.
Add the olive oil in a thin stream to incorporate the mixture
Marinate the prepared lamb rack for 24 hours in a sealable Ziplock bag, turning often.
Prepare the mixed onion, celery, carrot, garlic, lemon juice, bay leaf, and red chile flake to sauté.
Prepare the sun-dried tomato, black olive, grilled artichoke, and parsley.
Heat all the ingredients through and reserve till ready to serve on low heat. Reserve.
Grill the rack of lamb over high heat. This method is direct searing. Rotate every few minutes to get full coverage. Once the lamb rack is thoroughly seared, remove it from heat and finish in the oven at (400°F or 205°C) degrees for about 10-15 minutes until an internal temperature of (130°F or 55°C) is reached (medium-rare).
To assemble, start with a hot mound of garlic mashed potatoes in a warm dish.
Ladle or spoon the warm ragout of vegetables with sauce around the garlic mashed potatoes.
Allow the lamb rack to rest for 8-10 minutes before attempting to slice.
Arrange 2-4 rib chops over the mashed potatoes and ragout of vegetables.
Grilled Garlic Lamb Rack with Ragout of Vegetables. Optional: Finish with Maldon Sea Salt.
Wine pairing for a grilled garlic rack of lamb would be a nice Italian Merlot (2005 Falesco Montiano Lazio) or New Zealand Pinot Noir (2014 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir).
Ragout of Grilled Artichokes & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Equipment
- Blender
- chef knife
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- grill
- Tongs
- 1-gallon zip lock bag or container for the marinade
Ingredients
Lamb Rack Marinade
- 2½ tbsp garlic, peeled and minced
- 1½ tbsp rosemary, fresh with stems removed and roughly chopped
- ⅛ cup wine, white (dry)
- 1 whole egg
- ½ cup oil, olive
Vegetable Ragout
- ½ cup oil, olive
- ½ cup onion, white or yellow peeled and chopped
- ½ cup carrot, peeled with ends trimmed, brunoise or small dice
- 2 ribs of celery, brunoise, or small dice
- 2 whole bay leaves
- ¼ cup garlic, peeled and minced
- ½ tsp red pepper flake
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- ½ cup wine, white
- 1 cup chicken stock
- To taste salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 ½ cup grilled artichoke hearts, sliced in half
- ½ cup tomatoes, sun-dried, cut into medium chunks
- ½ cup olives, Kalamata, pitted, sliced in half
- ¼ cup of fresh thyme or lemon thyme chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley minced
Instructions
Lamb Rack Marinade
- Add the first four ingredients to a food processor or a blender. While the machine is running, add a skinny stream of olive oil and emulsify the mixture.
- Add the prepped lamb rack and the marinade in a 1 gallon Ziplock freezer bag or small container. Let marinate for 24 hrs, turning the bag or rack often to coat evenly.
Vegetable Ragout
- In a medium pot or deep saucepan, add the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil has become hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Sauté until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the garlic, red pepper flake, and sauté for an additional 5-8 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine and lemon juice. After about 5 minutes, when the wine has mostly cooked off, add the chicken stock.
- Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and let steep for 10 minutes; reserve.
Grilling the Lamb Rack
- Heat an outdoor/indoor grill (electric, gas, or wood) to approximately (400°F or 205°C). Leave part of the grill turned off to rest the lamb rack if needed.
- Remove the marinated lamb rack from the marinade and remove as much of the marinade that you can. (too much marinade will cause flare-ups)
- Using a set of long tongs, place the lamb rack in the center of the heat. While watching closely, turn and flip the lamb rack as needed to get an excellent charred crust. Do not allow to burn!
- Once the lamb rack has developed a crust on both sides, please remove it from the heat. Reserve until needed
Final Cook
- Preheat an oven to (400°F or 205°C).
- Place the grilled lamb rack on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Place into the preheated oven and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the desired internal temperature is reached. (130°F for medium-rare).
REST the lamb rack 10 minutes before slicing.
- Right before you need the ragout, grilled artichoke hearts, oven-dried tomato, Kalamata olives, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh parsley, and heat through in a medium pot over medium-heat
- In the center of a warm dish, add a scoop of garlic mashed potatoes. Spoon some of the warm vegetable ragouts around the mashed potatoes.
- Slice the rested lamb rack and place a single rack around the potatoes. 3-4 rack pieces per person.