Rack of Lamb w/ Mushroom Risotto

The Willamette Valley in Oregon is well known for its high quality lamb. Located about a 30 minute drive north of Springfield, the good folks at the Anderson Ranches in Brownsville have been raising superior, grass-fed lamb for five generations, perfecting their craft and creating a product that is well respected throughout the country by those in the know.

Lamb is a vastly underutilized meat and its distinct flavor is a good way to change things up after you want an alternate to beef.

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Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

• 2 cups arborio rice

• 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms

• ½ yellow onion, diced small

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 48 fl. oz of beef stock

• 1 cup white wine

• 2 TBSP butter

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Instructions:

1. In a medium sized pot, melt butter and a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat

2. Once the butter melts, add the mushrooms and sautee until the mushrooms shrink in size by about half

3. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. Stir continuously to avoid the garlic from burning

4. Once the onions and garlic are cooked, add the rice and toast at the bottom of the pan

5. Pour in the white wine and reduce the wine by half

6. Slowly add enough beef stock until it covers the rice

7. As the rice cooks and absorbs the stock, add more little by little until the rice is cooked through

8. Mix in the grated Parmesan and add some fresh thyme flowers for a little something extra

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Mint Puree

Ingredients:

• 1 packed cup of baby spinach

• 10-12 large leaves of fresh mint

• Lemon juice

• Extra Virgin Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot

2. Blanch the spinach and the mint

3. Strain the spinach and the mint after about a minute making sure to save some of the water

4. Place spinach and mint in blender adding a little bit of the cooking water to begin blending

5. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and continue blending until smooth

6. Season with salt to taste and add a little bit of lemon juice for acidity

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Mint Jus

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, quartered

• 2 stalks of celery, chopped into large chunks

• 1 small carrot, chopped into large chunks

• 1 TBSP tomato paste

• 1 cup red wine, preferably cabernet sauvignon

• 24 fl.oz unsalted beef stock

• 1 bunch of fresh mint

Instructions:

1. In a medium sized pot, add two tablespoons of canola (or vegetable) oil and cook your onion, carrot, and celery until soft

2. Add the tomato paste and cook. Stir frequently as you don’t want the tomato paste to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn

3. Add red wine and reduce until thick

4. Pour in beef stock and add mint

5. Reduce until thick

6. Pass through a fine mess strainer

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Rack of Lamb

A French trimmed rack of lamb is simply a rack of lamb that has had any meat removed from between the bones giving a cleaner, more elegant presentation. Any butcher should be able to French trim a rack of lamb for you but if you absolutely cannot find any, or if you’d like to give it a try yourself, you can watch the video at the bottom for a guide on how to do it.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of French trimmed rack of lamb (2 lbs if untrimmed)

• 2 sprigs rosemary

• 5 sprigs of thyme

• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 500ºF (260ºC)

2. Place a stainless steel pan on medium high heat and add a glug of canola oil

3. Season your French trimmed rack of lamb.

4. Sear all the sides of the rack of lamb until you get a nice crust

5. Toss your thyme and rosemary into the pan around the lamb

6. Turn the lamb so that the fatty side is on the pan and place the pan in the oven

7. After about 4 minutes, turn the lamb over to the other side and cook for another 3 minutes. (This should give you a medium-rare lamb but of course this can vary depending on the size of the lamb. Cook it for more or less depending on how well you’d like your meat)

8. Remove from oven and allow lamb to rest before cutting

9. Enjoy!