Lamb rack with pinot noir sauce

Slow cooking the vegetables lets them caramelise and release their flavour potential, making this lamb all the more rich and wintry.

Lamb rack with pinot noir sauce Credit: Born to Cook: Jack Stein Downunder

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

For the lamb

• 1 8-bone rack of lamb
• 100 g plain flour, seasoned
• 50 ml vegetable oil
• 150 g carrots, roughly diced
• 150 g onion, roughly diced
• 150 g celery, roughly chopped
• 500 ml chicken stock
• Handful of dried porcini mushrooms
• 10 ml dark soy
• 1 tsp Vegemite
• Hanful of thyme
• 1 shallot
• 1 bottle Pinot noir
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bouquet garni
• salt
• pepper

Vegetable sides

• ½ bunch kale
• 1 bunch baby carrots, unpeeled, topped
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 2 pinches of sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 star anise
• Vegetable oil 

Instructions

Cut the rack of lamb into two four-bone pieces. Sear in a hot pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to an oven tray preheated at 200°C. Roast for 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 60°C (for medium-rare).

To make the stew, in a large pot, pour in oil and add the carrots and onion, seasoning with salt. Add celery, leeks and garlic. Stir through, adding the bouquet garni last.

Place baby carrots in a saucepan and add water, star anise and a tablespoon of butter. Add two big pinches of sugar to help them caramelise and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour 500ml of wine into the stew and let it reduce.

Place shallot in a small heatproof cup and cover with a neutral oil. Microwave for 30 seconds to make a confit.

Once the carrots in the stew have reduced, turn heat down to low. When the stew has reduced right down, add the chicken stock, then the porcini mushrooms, soy and a teaspoon of Vegemite. Remove from heat and pass the stew through a sieve, squeeze any excess liquid out from the vegetables.

Roughly chop kale and place in a deep, wide pan with a splash of water. Season with salt and pepper and cover with a lid, letting the kale steam for two minutes. Add in the confit shallots and toss through.

Remove the lamb from the oven, season and sear off in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add in a sprig of thyme and a tablespoon of butter, spooning over the lamb until it is brown and caramelised. Remove from heat and leave to rest for a few minutes before slicing and arranging on a plate with the kale and shallots, carrots and a good drizzle of the red wine sauce.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.