Today we celebrated 21 years of wedded bliss.... what more of a gift could I give my husband than a beautiful rack of lamb dinner.... the more part that I gave him was that he cooked most of it!!!! LOL I have to say it was a joint effort cooking tonight. Cooking together is something that we have always enjoyed doing which is a bonus.
Both of us enjoy lamb especially the fillet, rack or cutlets and even more so a lamb roast. This lamb rack was cooked to perfection and it wasn't very difficult at all. A quick pan fry and then finished off in the oven for 15 minutes it was not over cooked - just right. The crust had a flavour sensation that was not over powered by the pepper it was beautifully balanced with thte rosemary and salt.
The mash - what can I say? I was mash to die for. Very rustic with a leek and thyme infusion which did nothing but complimented the lamb rack.
It was a toss up as to whether the lamb was better than the mash or that the mash was better than the lamb - that's how nice this dish was.
Overall this dinner, which would be a magnificient entertainer's meal, was avvery easy to prepare, cook and serve weeknight wonder.
Pepper Crusted Lamb Rack with Cream Cheese
(Recipe adapted from WW Dinner With Friends Cookbook)
Serves: 4
ProPoints per serve: 12
650 grams peeled potatoes, chopped
3 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 x 200 gram (4 cutlets in each) french trimmed lamb racks
1 tablespoon oil
2 small leeks, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to garnish
60 grams extra light cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Boil, steam or microwave potatoes until tender. Drain, cover and keep warm.
Meanwhile combine pepper, rosemary and salt in a small bowl. Press pepper mixture over lamb racks. Heat half the oil in a large non stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the lamb for 2 minutes each side or until browned. Transfer to a baking tray. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes for medium or until cooked to your liking. Remove from oven, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Heat remaining oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, leek and thyme leaves, stirring, for 5 - 7 minutes or until leek has softened. Mash potatoe in a bowl with cream cheese and milk until smooth. Stir in the leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve mash with lamb and 0 ProPoint steamed vegetables.
