Broiled rack of lamb served with pasta

I needed coffee the other day, for both home and the office. That led me into making a mistake. On my way home to let the dogs out at lunch time, I stopped into Trader Joe’s while I was hungry. That is never a wise thing to do. 

I picked up my coffee, and couldn’t pass up an eighteen dollar rack of lamb. I knew that was too expensive, but I was in the store unsupervised, and added it to my basket. Next I bought greek olives and some wine. While I was looking at the wine, an employee asked me if I needed help, and I replied, “Oh yeah, I need a lot of help … just not with the wine.”

That evening, I broiled the lamb, and made a pasta sauce in the lamb drippings. Even if I have no self control, I do have a way with lamb. Dinner was excellent. The lamb was perfectly medium rare, and the pasta had a cheesy garlicky lamb flavor. Here’s how I put this together.

1 frenched rack of lamb

Cajun seasoning

Olive oil

White pepper

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of white wine

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. snipped fresh thyme

Couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce

8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 lb. seashell pasta, cooked and drained

1 cup grated Italian parmesan cheese

Preparation

Take the lamb out of the packaging and rinse it, then pat it dry with paper towels. Rub it with olive oil, and then set it in a oven proof skillet, meaty side up. Season it generously with cajun seasoning. Grind on some white pepper, and set it under the broiler. Make sure you have pasta water on to boil.

Now this part is hard to convey with specifics. You want to stop broiling when the inside is still rare, and let it slowly rise to medium rare. First broil the lamb so it just chars on the top. Turn the lamb over and sprinkle this side with cajun seasoning. Return and broil until that side chars. Add the wine to the pan, turn the lamb over and broil for a few more minutes. By now the skillet should be sizzling, with occasional spurts of flame. Turn it over one last time, give it one more minute in the broiler and remove it. 

Set the lamb on a plate, near the oven vent to keep hot. Set the pasta in the pasta water to cook. Place the skillet on the stove, and start the liquid simmering. Smash and mince the garlic, and add that to the skillet. Stir and let the wine reduce by half. Add the oregano, the Worcestershire sauce, and a few snips of fresh rosemary. Add the tomato sauce, and stir to blend in. Simmer gently for about five minutes, and then turn off the heat. When the pasta is done, drain it and place it in a bowl. Splash on some of your very best olive oil, and stir in the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and distributed throughout the pasta. You are ready to serve.

Serving

You can easily make this dinner for two. I opted to make it a single serving portion. Slice the lamb into three or four portions, and arrange them on a plate. Add a pile of the pasta, and then douse it with the sauce. Sprinkle on some grated cheese. Now add a bowl of olives, a crisp tossed salad, a wedge of Asiago cheese, and some homemade bread and butter. I opted for Chianti as the wine.