Ingredients
- 1 rack of lamb, 450 to 700 g
For the spice rub:
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the potatoes:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 to 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 kg Yukon gold potatoes, cleaned but not peeled
For mint sauce:
- 120 ml sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 60 g sugar
- 30 g chopped fresh mint
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Preparation
Step 1
Prep the lamb - Preheat oven to 245°C. In a small bowl, stir together spice rub ingredients. Rub spice mixture all over the rack of lamb. Cover lamb and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, make the mint sauce - In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely (about 1 minute). Remove from the heat and stir in the mint and salt. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and set aside until it has cooled down to room temperature.
Step 3
Next, prep the potatoes - Place potatoes in roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with minced garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and salt. Toss to ensure that potatoes are evenly coated with oil and spices. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then add rack of lamb to pan.
Step 4
Roast the lamb - After lamb has roasted for 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 190°C and continue cooking until thermometer inserted in center of meat reads 50°C, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer lamb to cutting board and cover with foil for 10 minutes.
Step 5
Finish potatoes - If potatoes aren’t quite done, return to oven and continue roasting until beautifully browned and tender when pierced with a fork, another 5 to 10 minutes. In total the poptatoes have been in the oven for around 35 to 45 minutes.
Step 6
Slice, garnish and serve - Cut lamb into individual chops. Arrange on plates with potatoes and drizzle meat with mint sauce.
Tips
Give it a rest
Ensure even roasting by bringing lamb to room temperature before cooking—30 minutes should do the trick, but you can leave it out for up to 2 hours. When you remove lamb from the oven, it needs time for moisture to redistribute throughout the meat. Slice too soon and all the liquid will escape leaving you with a bone-dry chop.
