Rosemary-Pesto Rack of Lamb with Roasted Tomatoes & Mushrooms

Taste: ****
Difficulty: Easy
Cleanup: Moderate

I wanted to make a special dinner for Tim’s parents — Peter and Pam — who were visiting us this weekend in the Berkshires.  Since I know they both enjoy lamb, I decided to pick up two racks of lamb at Guido’s, our local food store which has a wonderful butcher.  I have made rack of lamb before but I couldn’t find the recipe I had used in the past so I turned to Epicurious.  I found this pesto-crusted rack of lamb recipe that looked delicious.

I made a few modifications to recipe.  First of all, I doubled the recipe.  I also roasted grape tomatoes and cremini mushrooms tossed with olive oil and kosher salt along side the lamb.  Lastly, I needed to cook the lamb for 5 to 7 minutes longer than the recipe called for to achieve medium rare.

Everyone loved the lamb!  The tomatoes and mushrooms were a wonderful accompaniment as was the Zucchini Gratin I made.

Rosemary-Pesto Lamb Rack
Bon Appétit, June 2001

  • 1/2 cup (packed) parsley leaves and stems
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary plus rosemary sprigs
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1 1/2-pound rack of lamb

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 450°F. Place parsley, chopped rosemary, grated Parmesan cheese and garlic in processor. Process to coarse paste. With machine running, gradually add olive oil. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper.

Place lamb on small rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread all pesto over rounded side of lamb. Roast 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and roast to desired doneness, about 15 minutes longer for medium-rare.

Cut lamb between bones into chops. Divide chops between 2 plates; garnish with rosemary sprigs.



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