Rack of Lamb with Mixed Vegetables
Courtesy of John Loydall – Food blog
Serves 2 to 4
INGREDIENTS
For the lamb
- 1 rack of lamb (6 to 8 bones)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 or 3 sprigs thyme
For the vegetables
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise
- 4 shallots, peeled and quartered
- 2 baby leeks, washed well, trimmed, and sliced
- 3 baby cauliflowers, washed well and trimmed
- ½ cup (60 g) dried broad (fava) beans
- ½ cup (60 g) dried flageolet
- 2 radishes, washed well and trimmed
- Leaf lettuces – rocket, mustard, etc
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) each salt and black pepper, or to taste
For the sauce
- 3 cups (720 ml) lamb stock (make your own or buy a good gel or cube)
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 stalk celery, trimmed and chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 leek, washed well, trimmed and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 or 3 sprigs of thyme, stripped for leaves
- 3 star anise pods
- 15 whole black peppercorns
- 3 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- ½ bottle (375 ml) red wine
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme to 183F/84C.
- Put the vegetables (carrots, shallots, leeks, and cauliflower) into a large cooking pouch and vacuum seal.
- Submerge the vegetables in the water oven to cook for 1 hour.
- While the vegetables are cooking, start the sauce:
- In a pan on the stovetop, gently sweat the onion, celery, leek and carrot in a tablespoon of oil until softened – about 15 minutes – don’t allow to brown too much.
- Add the lamb stock, bay, thyme, star anise, and peppercorns and cook for 1 hour over a low flame. Don’t allow it to boil.
- When the vegetables in the water oven have been cooking for about 30 minutes, in a separate pan fry the shallots until softened.
- Add the wine and allow the wine to reduce over a low heat for 30 minutes. (Finish sauce in step 8 below.)
- When the vegetables have been cooking for 1 hour, reduce the temperature of the SousVide Supreme to 140F/60C, by adding cold water or ice cubes.
- Put the rack of lamb into a cooking pouch with its herbs and seasonings and vacuum seal.
- When the temperature of the water bath has dropped, submerge the lamb in the water oven to cook for 1 hour of cooking, keeping the vegetables in the water to keep them warm.
- Put the broad beans and flageolet into a large pot of boiling water and cook until tender, about 1 hour. (When cooked, drain and hold to add to the sous vide-cooked vegetables at plating.)
- Meanwhile, finish the sauce:
- Strain the lamb stock into the pan with the red wine and reduce further, cooking for another 30 minutes. Don’t allow it to boil.
- Strain the sauce to remove the shallots and skim any froth from the surface.
- Reduce the sauce further for another 30 minutes. (Note: If you cooked using a stock cube you may need to thicken the sauce slightly using a teaspoon of sauce flour mixed in water. A cube of butter to finish it off won’t do it any harm either. If you want to sweeten the sauce, consider a teaspoon or 2 of redcurrant jelly.
- Season and taste your sauce. When it tastes and looks good, it’s ready to go.
- After 1 hour in the SousVide Supreme, remove the lamb from the water.
- The lamb then needs to be seared in a hot pan on the stovetop just long enough to add some colour and texture to the surface of the meat, about 1 minute.
- Cut the rack of lamb into chops and serve with the beans and the vegetables (straight from the pouch) with the sauce.