Grilled rack of lamb with ratatouille

Ingredients

For the rack of lamb

• 1 lamb rack, with 8-10 ribs, French-trimmed
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/2 head of garlic, crushed or minced
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the ratatouille

• 4 large ripe tomatoes
• 1 large aubergine, cut into 2cm wide cubes
• 2 red peppers, sliced lengthways and cut into 2cm squares
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 3 courgettes, diced into 3cm cubes
• 3 sprigs of rosemary
• 6 sage leaves
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp of caster sugar
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Water
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 head of garlic

Method

1.    Begin by making the lamb marinade. Mix 4 tbsp of olive oil with ½ head of garlic, and a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste. Add the lamb rack to the marinade, cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours (ideally overnight).

2.    Before starting the ratatouille, preheat the oven to 80ºC. In boiling salted water, blanch the tomatoes for a few seconds before plunging them in cold water. This way you can remove the skins. Cut the tomatoes into quarter pieces and remove the core and pulp with a small sharp knife.

3.    Add the tomato flesh to a separate bow, along with the olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper and 1 tbsp of caster sugar. Stir well.

4.    On a baking tray, spread out the tomatoes along with 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 bay leaf and ½ a head of crushed garlic. Cook in the oven for roughly 2 hours. Once cooked, remove the herbs and garlic, and cut the tomatoes into halves.

5.    Over a medium heat, sauté the cubes of aubergine in a pan with olive oil, 3 chopped cloves of garlic, sage leaves and salt and pepper. Once tender, remove from the heat. Remove the sage and reserve, and cover the pan with a lid. This will keep them moist.   

6.    Repeat the sauté process with the peppers, but this time in a pan with the chopped onions, balsamic vinegar, a dash of water, 1 tbsp of caster sugar, 2 tbsp of olive oil, rosemary and salt and pepper.

7.    Once tender, again remove from the heat and cover with a lid, leaving them to cool.

8.    Prepare the courgettes by dicing them into 1cm cubes. Over a medium heat, sauté in a pan alongside 3 cloves of peeled and chopped garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 sprigs of chopped thyme, salt and pepper. Gently cook until lightly coloured and soft. Leave to cool in the pan with a lid over it.

9.    To cook the lamb rack, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4, and remove the lamb from the marinade. On either a hot griddle pan or a barbeque, add the lamb skin-side down, and seal until it starts to crisp. Carefully grill on all sides, before popping onto a roasting tray and covering with the remaining marinade.

10.    Finish in the oven for approximately 10 minutes to achieve a medium-rare finish. To check the temperature of the lamb, pierce the flesh with a small knife and carefully put it on your lips. If warm, the meat is pink and ready. Strain the pan juices and set aside allowing the lamb to rest for 4-5 minutes.

11.    In a large saucepan, combine all the ratatouille ingredients and reheat together gently until warm.

12.    To serve, plate the ratatouille onto plates with the pieces of lamb on top. Drizzle with the strained pan juices.

Recipe courtesy of Great British Chefs. Visit their site for more delicious lamb rack recipes.