For the last day of our “Putting it all Together” class at the University of Richmond, we were going to prepare a plated 3-course meal of which the main dish was going to be a something-crusted rack of lamb. By something, that meant I did not know whether it was going to be herb-crusted or nut-crusted. This did however, make me think of the wonderful pistachio-crusted lamb rack that I had prepared from Patrick O’ Connell’s book, Refined American Cuisine. I have not made it in a year, and that was a shame because it was very delicious and the carrot reduction that went with it was simply sublime. Perhaps it was time I made this again as it would prepare me for the cooking times I needed for the class (I seem to freeze when I am in a different kitchen environment but that will be the subject of a different post J.)

            So, last Saturday I went and bought the carrot juice and ginger. All the other ingredients I had at home … or so I thought. I was digging through my freezer and realized I was out of lamb racks! I nearly got frostbitten fingers because I desperately wanted to find that darn lamb rack!  All I had were chops, which I normally used for grilling but I guess they will have to do. (Mental note to self: I really need to find a way to organize that freezer. I have a jumble of duck breasts, pork belly, lamb shanks, frozen morels from last year, and God knows what else… no pig’s head though … you all have to check out Freya's site to find out what she did with one … brave woman!)

Having the lamb in chop form presented a problem. It would be hard to stand each  piece on the roasting pan -- I guess I’ll just have to try and make them behave.

To prepare the pistachios, I just used a handy nut chopper. I loved this because you can choose coarse or fine ground without turning your nuts into paste, as you are likely to get from a food processor .

            Since I have made this carrot juice reduction before, I knew I had to start it  ahead of time so I would not be blind sided with a sauce that had not reduced enough when everything else was done. The beauty of this is: you can prepare it ahead of time and simply reheat it. Unlike hollandaise, which has a short shelf life this sauce keeps beautifully. For one thing, it contains crème fraiche, which is an absolute favorite ingredient of mine to use.

            Crème Fraiche tastes like a cross between sour cream and heavy cream. It has the nuttiness and tanginess of sour cream with the sauce binding capability of heavy cream. It is hard to find in regular supermarkets. Locally, in Richmond Va, Ellwood Thompson carries it in 6 oz. tubs. But since I’m afraid of running out of this precious item, I usually split a big 4.75 lb. tub with a friend of mine who orders it from a restaurant supplier. You can also make crème fraiche by heating heavy cream and adding some buttermilk to it. I have not tried this method yet but I am tempted to do so for emergency crème fraiche purposes.

            The combination of reduced carrot juice flavored with ginger and enriched with this amazing cream is a taste so rich and versatile it can even be used to flavor seafood dishes.

Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Chops with Gingered Carrot Sauce

            Adapted from Refined American Cuisine by Patrick O’ Connell

Gingered Carrot Sauce

16 ounces organic carrot juice

½ inch chunk of ginger

½ cup crème fraiche

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to salt

Lamb

6 pcs. Lamb Chops

½ cup chopped pistachios

¼ cup mustard

½ cup brown sugar

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cooking Notes:

            For a dish so spectacularly tasty, it was a breeze to make. Just remember to allow yourself enough time to make the carrot sauce. When you coat the lamb with the mustard mixture make it thick enough so that the pistachios will adhere to the lamb. 

For the Gingered Carrot sauce

            Place the carrot juice and ginger root in a 2-quart saucepan and simmer over medium heat whisking occasionally until reduced to ½ cup.

            Remove the ginger root and slowly whisk in the crème fraiche. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside. This can be reheated before serving.

For the Lamb Chops

            Preheat oven to 400 F.

            Season the lamb chops , arrange in a roasting pan  (try to stand them up) and bake for about 30 minutes.

            Meanwhile , in a small mixing bowl whisk he mustard and brown sugar together. Using a pastry brush, coat the meat with the mustard mixture then roll each piece in the chopped pistachios. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes for medium rare. Cook longer for desired meat temperature.

         To serve, arrange lamb chops on a plate and drizzle with rewarmed gingered carrot sauce.

            How many of you have tried grilling lamb chops only to end up with charcoal looking lamb chops? Believe me, hubby and I have had our share of blackened lamb chops without meaning for it to be blackened. Lamb has a lot of fat, but the fat is what gives it the distinct flavor. Just when we were ready to give up, my friend J told us how to grill it. Remove some of the fat (I can’t tell you how it breaks my heart to see all those fat sliced away, how I would love to have it crisped and served on the side but my hubby threatens to ban lamb from the house if he hears another word from me about wasting the fat.). Leave enough fat though, so it could self-baste the lamb as you grill it.  Season it as you like, although for grilled lamb the best so far is just plain sea salt and pepper and maybe a little chopped rosemary. Set your grill on high, wait for it to get to an internal temperature of about 400 F before you add the lamb chops. Now comes the hard part. You have to watch the lamb and never shut the grill. When you see a flare up because of dripping fat you have to move it to another part of the grill that is still hot. Lamb chops cannot be left unattended , they cook pretty fast in around 10 to 15 minutes for a temperature of medium , cook it less time if you want medium rare. We use Australian Lamb almost exclusively because it is the flavor and tenderness we want. I find that American Lamb is a lot tougher unless you get the lamb that has been only milk-fed (spring lamb), the problem with this is that you get extremely tender meat but not much flavor.

            As an appetizer, we went all out and splurged on caviar. I prepared the "Sorrel Jelly" once more and now you have it as it was meant to be prepared from the book. The caviar used is Osetra caviar and 1 oz of it is more than enough for 4 servings of the “Sorrel Jelly”. I must say despite the sour tasting nature of the sorrel, the wine we had with this, Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 from Pride Mountain Vineyards (in NapaValley) tasted phenomenal with this appetizer.

For a side dish, I decided to forego the potato and try a cauliflower gratin. I bought a head of cauliflower and chopped it up. Next time I’m going to just get chopped-up cauliflower since dealing with a whole head is so messy and so frustrating so if anyone has any advice on this please, do tell. This side dish was more work than I wanted. I was ready to scream and throw the whole thing into the garbage disposal when I tried to puree some of the hot minced cauliflower cream mixture and it kind popped the lid off my blender and I had cauliflower cream splatter everywhere (common sense should have told me that the heat would just be too much to keep the lid on). I guess I should have used a food processor but I think I’m sticking to potatoes next time unless I’m feeling ambitious again.  The end result was very gratifying though, and I did end up with a nicely browned side dish that was actually very tasty.

            Did I mention the wine J ? A lamb dinner is never complete without it.

   For dessert, I prepared a crème caramel. Check back on my upcoming post. I feel this venerable custard deserves a story of its own.