- Total: 5 hr 45 min
- Prep: 3 hr
- Cook: 2 hr 45 min
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 shallots, sliced
8 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
1 dry ancho chiles, crushed
2 scallions, thinly sliced into rounds
1 small handful cilantro leaves
2 to 3 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon honey
3 racks of lamb, chine bone removed
Romesco Sauce:
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 dried ancho chiles, crushed
1 serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded
1 red pepper, diced
3 shallots, sliced
10 cloves garlic, smashed
4 tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
Large pinch saffron threads
1 tablespoon crushed cumin
1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
A few basil and parsley leaves
3/4 cup toasted almonds
Lime juice, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Prepare the marinade: Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add shallots, garlic, and the ancho chile. Cook until barely golden. Remove from heat and add scallions, cilantro leaves, lime juice and honey.
- Remove the whole "eye" from each rack, reserving the bones. Marinate for 2 hours or more, refrigerated.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a shallow roasting pan, combine all the ingredients for the romesco sauce: olive oil, the remaining 2 ancho chiles, serrano or jalapeno, red pepper, shallots, garlic, tomato, tomato juice, saffron, cumin, coriander, basil and parsley. Roast for 40 minutes or until the tomatoes start to brown.
- Remove from the oven and process in a food processor, along with the toasted almonds. Add lime juice and salt and pepper to adjust the seasoning.
- Slice apart the reserved rib bones into 7 or 8 pieces equally so that each bone has the same amount of meat.
- Return sauce to the roasting pan and add rib bones. Loosely cover with foil. Roast at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Test to see if the bone meat is tender by poking it with the tip of a sharp knife. When the meat is tender, remove the foil cover to let the meat brown slightly.
- Dry the "eyes" of each rack by scraping away the marinade. Do not discard. Add salt and pepper to the "eyes" and brown in a large saute pan.
- When the "eyes" have browned, place in a shallow roasting pan, pour over the reserved marinade, and roast in a slow oven at 325 degrees F. until cooked to medium rare. Let them rest. Slice each into 6 equal rounds. Place three rounds, overlapping, on each serving plate, and arrange 3 or 4 rib bones next to them Ladle some of the sauce around the plate. Serve immediately.
