Home Lambchops by Sara Johannes |

Behind the Recipes

Home Lambchops by Sara Johannes

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 rack of lamb (ask your butcher for a rack of lamb that is "frenched." This means that the bones will be cleaned)

Cilantro-Mint Vinaigrette:
1 (each) egg yolk
2 (each) limes, juiced
1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
1 each medium garlic clove
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ tsp. Chinese chile sauce (sambal)
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
6 each sprigs of mint
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 ½ tbsp. packed brown sugar
Pinch ground black pepper
1 ½ cups peanut oil
2 tsp. sesame oil

Lamb Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar

Hunan Style Eggplant Sauce:
1 cup rice wine for cooking
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ cup soy sauce (choose a high quality fermented soy sauce)
2 tbsp. Chinese chile sauce (a ground garlic-chile sauce found in your grocer's international aisle)
1 tbsp. chopped garlic

PREPARATION:

To Prepare the lamb marinade:
Blend all the ingredients for lamb marinade until sugar is dissolved

To Prepare the Hunan Eggplant Sauce:
In a hot sauté pan, sauté the garlic lightly in oil. Carefully add the rice wine.

Cook off the alcohol—reduce the amount of liquid by ½.
Add rice vinegar and sugar—reduce till sauce has syrup-like consistency.
When thickened, add the soy and chile sauces.

To Prepare the Lamb Chops:
Marinate your lamb rack in the Lamb Marinade for one hour.

Remove the lamb and season lightly with salt and pepper.

The best way to cook the lamb is on a charcoal grill, but you can easily grill it indoors on an electric grill, or even use your broiler. High heat is key— you want the sugars in the marinade to caramelize and crisp up the lamb. Grill or broil to your desired degree of wellness. Medium rare is recommended. When lamb is cooked, let it rest for a few minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to redistribute themselves in the meat.

To Present The Lamb:
When serving the lamb, slice between the bones and straight down. This will separate the rack into chops. Drizzle the chops with Cilantro Mint Vinaigrette.

Serve the eggplant salad on the side, or underneath the lamb.

Enjoy!