Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Roasted
Submitted by cindylcoh
Herb-crusted rack of lamb seared and finished with compound herb butter, served over mesquite-grilled pepper ragout with socca and olive tapenade. Restaurant-level Provencal cooking.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
50 minREADY
60 minThis is a restaurant-caliber dish with four distinct components, each built from scratch. The lamb gets seared hard, then finished in the oven with a compound butter packed with six fresh herbs: parsley, chives, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme.
The herb butter does the real work. Blended smooth with garlic puree and bread crumbs, it melts over the seared rack in the oven, forming a golden, fragrant crust as it browns. Make this ahead and keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to cook.
Underneath everything sits a mesquite-grilled pepper ragout. Red and yellow bell peppers, Anaheim chiles, pimento, and red onion all get charred over coals, steamed, peeled, and then slow-baked with honey, lavender, and fresh basil. The smoky sweetness plays beautifully against the rich lamb.
Socca Niçoise, a traditional chickpea-flour pancake from southern France, acts as the base on the plate. Crispy on the outside, tender within, it soaks up the tapenade drizzled around the lamb.
Chef Tips
- Get the sauté pan screaming hot before the lamb goes in. You want a hard sear on all sides before it hits the oven.
- Rest the lamb five minutes after roasting. Cutting too early lets all the juices run onto the board instead of staying in the meat.
- The socca batter needs a full two-hour rest in the fridge. Skipping this makes the pancakes tough instead of crispy-tender.
- Keep the tapenade chunky. Over-processing turns it into a paste and you lose the texture contrast.
Variations
- Simplified version: Skip the socca and serve the lamb and ragout over creamy polenta instead.
- Winter ragout: Replace the grilled peppers with roasted root vegetables like parsnips and carrots for a cold-weather adaptation.
Ingredients
Directions
Chop all picked herbs and blend in a food processor with other ingredients until it is smooth and homogenous.
Reserve in refrigerator or freezer.
Preparation of the pepper ragout: Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Prelight a mesquite grill and let embers cool.
Place all the peppers, chiles, and onion on the grill and char well.
Place the garlic cloves in a pouch of aluminum foil and roast over coals until lightly golden brown.
Once peppers are charred, place them in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for ten minutes.
Remove the skins from the chiles, pepper and onion and cut into large chunks, after removing any seeds or white membranes.
Cut the garlic into large chunks and mix with peppers and onions.
In a heavy sauce pot, add the olive oil and heat over a medium fire and sweat the pepper mixture.
Add the lavender, salt, pepper and honey and bake, uncovered in oven until the liquid from the peppers has reduced.
Remove and cool to room temperature, adjust seasonings and add whole leaves of basil.
Preparation of the socca nicoise: Place flour in a mixing bowl and add the milk in a steady stream until smooth.
Add olive oil, egg, salt and pepper. Strain and let rest for two hours in refrigerator. Consistency should be similar to crepe batter. Preparation of the tapenade: Purée all ingredients in a food processor, not too smooth but should remain chunky. Let sit at room temperature. Presentation: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a heavy sauté pan and add a drizzle of olive oil over high heat. Get oil to smoking point. Season the racks of lamb and sear well on all sides, place in oven and cook for fifteen minutes until rare. Cut a piece of the herb butter and place on top of the rack of lamb. Put back in oven and cook another five to seven minutes until medium rare and crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to rest for five minutes. Cut rack in half, between the chops and reserve warm. In a small nonstick pan, heat the olive oil over medium to high heat and add the chick pea batter. Color well on both sides. Place on a warm plate and make as many as you would like. Place a small pile of the roasted pepper ragout in the center, place the rack of lamb on top and drizzle around with tapenade. Garnish with fried Italian parsley. Serve immediately.
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