Recipe: Lamb rack with harissa, beans and yoghurt mash
Want to know how to cook the tastiest lamb rack? Try this recipe from Lucy Tweed, served with creamy, tangy potatoes and deliciously sweet tomatoes.
With a marinade that bursts with Mediterranean flavours, this roasted lamb rack is a savoury sensation. Serve it up family-style as a weekend sit-down meal with loved ones (this recipe feeds 4–6 people), or use this simple recipe to learn how to cook your very first lamb rack. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180 g) kalamata olives, pitted
- tbsp harissa
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1.2 kg rack of lamb, frenched and cut into 2 equal racks
- 500 g cherry tomatoes
- 400 g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 heads of garlic, halved horizontally
- 1 kg russet or Dutch cream potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm pieces
- 50 g butter, chopped
- ½ cup (130 g) Greek-style yoghurt
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Optional ingredients: baby spinach and lemon wedges
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Blitz (with a food processor or stick blender) the olives, harissa, tomato paste and 2 tbsp of olive oil until smooth, then spread all over the lamb meat.
- Heat the remaining oil in a flameproof roasting tin over high heat and sear the lamb, fat-side down, until browned and starting to crisp up.
- Set the lamb aside and wipe out any really burnt bits from the tin.
- Arrange the tomatoes, beans and garlic in the tin and sit the lamb on top. Roast for 20–25 minutes if you like your lamb pink, or add another 15 minutes if you prefer it grey (well done). Rest the lamb in a warm place for 15 minutes.
- While the lamb is roasting, make the mash. Boil the potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and return to the pan.
- Add the butter and yoghurt and mash to your preferred consistency. Season to taste and keep warm until the lamb is ready.
Serving tip: When you dish up, serve the garlic in whole chunks and let people squeeze the pockets of golden gooey garlic into their dinner, or mouths.
Images and text from Every Night of the Week by Lucy Tweed; photography by Lucy Tweed. Murdoch Books RRP $35.
First published May 2022
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