I don’t eat it often, but I love a little bit of lamb occasionally. Growing up in the 60s, lamb was a standard offering, I guess because it wasn’t as expensive as it is now. We’d often had fried lamb chops for dinner, and a leg of lamb was a not infrequent repast of the dinner table on weekends. Thankfully, there’s Costco, which is where I found a nice rack of lamb for a very reasonable price. As I’ve grown older, I’m much pickier about how lamb is cooked—I prefer grilled.
The flavor of lamb is also greatly enhanced by alliums and certain herbs—rosemary, mint, thyme, and lots of garlic. I’ve long been rubbing these substances on raw lamb for a few days before grilling, but I’m adding a new addition this year. As a lover of chimichurri, I’m also making a sauce with these lamb-enhancing flavors.
Rubbing the herbs on the lamb is a ’non-recipe’—it’s a matter of choosing the ones you like best, chopping them up, tasting them to see if they’re to your taste, adjusting if needed, and applying them to the rack.
The sauce is another thing, though. I’m guessing I shouldn’t call it ’chimichurri’—someone is sure to take offense—so I’ll call it herb sauce. I have a favorite chimichurri sauce recipe, so I’ve adapted from there. What’s great about this chimichurri-style herb sauce is that it keeps well and is terrific on just about any grilled meat. Since our weather is showing signs of improving, we should be using it for most of the coming week. Yes!
Herbaceous Rack of Lamb with Herb Sauce
For the Lamb
- 1 lamb rib roast (rack)
- Salt & pepper
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- A handful of rosemary chopped fine
- A handful of mint chopped fine
- A handful of thyme chopped fine
A day before grilling, salt and pepper the rack. Rub the garlic and herbs all over the lamb, then place into a plastic bag or on a plate and cover. Refrigerate.
For the Herb Sauce
- ~½ cup Italian parsley leaves
- ~¼ cup mint leaves
- ~1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
- ~½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 small red pepper (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
Place all herbs and the garlic on a cutting board and chop until all ingredients are minced and incorporated. Transfer the herbs into a jar and add olive oil and red wine vinegar. Add the salt and shake the jar. Allow to rest; let the flavors blend, then taste and adjust, adding more of whatever you want more of, if necessary. Serve with grilled lamb or any other grilled meat. This keeps refrigerated for a couple of weeks; just let it come to room temperature and stir/shake before serving.
