This roasted rack of lamb is coated with a delicious pistachio herb crust. It’s a perfect special occasion dinner that will impress – without much effort on your part!
I was never the hugest fan of lamb until I started dating my husband 10 years ago. He’s a lamb aficionado – it’s probably his favorite type of meat, and being around him and his family, I learned to like it. Now, I order it when I go to restaurants, and cook it at home, especially on special occasions.
This rack of lamb is first seared in a pan on the stove, it’s then brushed with mostarda, coated in a pistachio herb crust, and finished off in the oven. It’s a perfect no hassle meal for a special day – Valentine’s day perhaps?
What is rack of lamb?
It’s the ribs of the lamb, and when they are left together, they are referred to as a rack of lamb. A rack of lamb will usually come with 8 or 9 ribs.
Lamb chops can be cut from the ribs, shoulder or loin of the lamb. Rack of lamb, meanwhile, can only come from the ribs.
What does frenched rack of lamb mean?
It’s a type of trimming technique applied to the rack of lamb that exposes the rib bones. The fat and meat covering the rib bones are cut off to reveal them. It’s the most popular way to trim a rack of lamb, although the rack doesn’t need to be trimmed at all to be cooked and eaten.
How many people does one rack of lamb serve?
Since a rack of lamb usually comes with 8 or 9 ribs, it will serve 2-3 people comfortably.
For this recipe, I used an 8-rib rack, and mention that it serves 2 people, so each person will receive 4 pieces.
What temperature should it be cooked to?
I like my lamb medium rare, so I baked the rack of lamb in the oven for 22-23 minutes.
Many people enjoy lamb the way they enjoy steak (rare) – so there is no need to overcook it, unless you prefer it that way.
What is mostarda?
This roasted brack of lamb recipe uses mostarda to help the pistachio mixture adhere to the lamb.
Mostarda (not to be confused with yellow mustard), is an Italian condiment made of candied fruit that are preserved in a mustard-flavored syrup. This is the exact mostarda I used.
The syrup is a light in consistency and sweet in flavor. The fruit in the mostarda is also sweet, yet it has this mustard seed flavor to it as well. It’s really interesting and unlike anything I’ve ever tried before.
The mostarda adds a nice slight sweetness to this roasted rack of lamb, complimenting the pistachio and lamb flavors nicely.
How to Make Roasted Rack of Lamb – Step by Step
Remove lamb from fridge and let it come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°F.
To a food processor, add pistachios, bread crumbs, parmesan, rosemary and thyme. Process in the food processor until a very coarse sand texture forms (photo 1)
Add pistachio mixture to a plate, and add 2 tbsp olive oil. The texture should feel slightly moist (photo 2)
Rub lamb with 1 tsp olive oil and season on all sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a pan on the stove over medium heat – add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
Once oil is hot, add the rack of lamb, and sear it on all sides, about 4-5 minutes total (photo 3)
Remove rack of lamb from the pan and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Using a basting brush, brush the mostarda on the fat-side of the rack of lamb (photo 4)
Pat pistachio mixture on top of mostarda, ensuring it adheres to the mostarda. Remove any excess pistachio mixture that has fallen onto the parchment paper, or else it will burn when baked (photo 5)
Roast the lamb on the baking sheet in the oven for 20-25 minutes. I roasted mine for 23 minutes – I like mine on the rarer side.
Remove lamb from the oven – remove it from the baking sheet and let it rest for 10 minutes (photo 6)
To serve, carve the racks between the bones to cut into chops.
Top Tips:
- I only used the syrup from the mostarda to brush on the lamb – not the pieces of fruit that are in the jar as well.
- If you can’t find mostarda, you can use a fruit spread instead (like a fig spread), or dijon mustard would work well too.
- When coating the lamb with the pistachio mixture, make sure to remove any of the mixture that has fallen on to the parchment paper – or else it will burn in the oven.
- Make sure to remove the rack of lamb from the baking sheet once you remove it from the oven. The baking sheet is hot and leaving the lamb on the baking sheet will cause it cook more.
More Elevated Main Dish Recipes:
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Roasted Rack of Lamb
This roasted rack of lamb is coated with a delicious pistachio herb crust. It's a perfect special occasion dinner that will impress - without much effort on your part!
Ingredients
- 1 rack of lamb, frenched
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp mostarda syrup
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Remove lamb from fridge and let it come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°F.
-
To a food processor, add pistachios, bread crumbs, parmesan, rosemary and thyme. Process in the food processor until a very coarse sand texture forms.
-
Add pistachio mixture to a plate, and add 2 tbsp olive oil. The texture should feel slightly moist.
-
Rub lamb with 1 tsp olive oil and season on all sides with salt and pepper.
-
Heat a pan on the stove over medium heat - add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
-
Once oil is hot, add the rack of lamb, and sear it on all sides, about 4-5 minutes total.
-
Remove rack of lamb from the pan and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
-
Using a basting brush, brush the mostarda on the fat-side of the rack of lamb.
-
Pat pistachio mixture on top of mostarda, ensuring it adheres to the mostarda. Remove any excess pistachio mixture that has fallen onto the parchment paper, or else it will burn when baked.
-
Roast the lamb on the baking sheet in the oven for 20-25 minutes. I roasted mine for 23 minutes - I like mine on the rarer side.
-
Remove lamb from the oven - remove it from the baking sheet and let it rest for 10 minutes.
-
To serve, carve the racks between the bones to cut into chops.
Recipe Notes
- I only used the syrup from the mostarda to brush on the lamb - not the pieces of fruit that are in the jar as well.
- If you can't find mostarda, you can use a fruit spread instead (like a fig spread), or dijon mustard would work well too.
- When coating the lamb with the pistachio mixture, make sure to remove any of the mixture that has fallen on to the parchment paper - or else it will burn in the oven.
- Make sure to remove the rack of lamb from the baking sheet once you remove it from the oven. The baking sheet is hot and leaving the lamb on the baking sheet will cause it cook more.
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