94 votesThere are a thousand recipes for lamb and this recipe is a twist on the classic spice rub made with bread crumbs, basil, rosemary, and lavender served with paolo potatoes and kidney beans. Inspired by Indian cooking, French techniques and English cuisine, Chef Ralph Berendsen creates a heartwarming feast out of a rack of lamb. The meat is prepared in the simplest way possible, lightly seasoned with some salt and pepper to bring out the natural and delicious flavors of the lamb. After the meat has been seared in hot oil, it is covered with a thick paste of bread crumbs, mustard, and herbs to give it exceptional flavor. This bread paste has been finely calibrated by chef Berendsen to complement and bring out the best in the lamb dish.
Chef Berendsen also prepares a beautiful potato side dish in the “paolo fashion." This is made by slicing the potato into chips and blanching them in hot water. The potato chips are seasoned with some salt and piled one on top of each other with the help of a mold. Hot goose oil is poured on the potatoes to cook and flavor them. To add more starch into the dish and balance out the spices from the herb mixture, kidney beans are also served alongside the lamb and potatoes. They are cooked in olive oil and garlic and warmed in some meat juice to intensify their essence.
Rack of lamb in a crust of herbs with potatoes and kidney beans is a filling main course that goes well with a rich wine such as Moulis en Medoc rouge. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthday parties are a good occasion to serve this ambrosial lamb dish.
Brown the lamb in a hot pan with some butter.
To make the crust, mix all the ingredients, but reserve some herbs for the sauce. Spread the mixture over the meat. Tap with a spatula so it sticks to the meat. Heat 3/4 cup lamb fond and add the dried cepe mushrooms. Remove from heat and let infuse for 30 minutes. Strain the sauce to remove the cepe mushrooms. Add butter and mix well. Reduce about half of the lamb fond and add the herbs. Set aside.
To make the Paolo potatoes, cut the potatoes in slices about 1/10 of an inch in thickness and about 2 ½ inches in diameter. Fill 4 small bowls (2 3/4 to 3 inches in diameter) to their halfway mark with goose grease. Heat the bowls. Make 4 piles with the potato slices and cook them in the bowls on high heat for 15 minutes. When they are well browned and crusty, remove the potatoes from the bowls. Drain on a piece of linen.
Heat the kidney beans in the cepe mushroom butter. Heat the lamb for 5 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. Slice into loin pieces.
On 4 hot serving plates, make a bed of kidney beans on top of the cepe mushroom butter. Place the lamb on this and pour the sauce with herbs around it. Put the Paolo on the dish and garnish with a piece of chervil.
