House rubbed rack of lamb with cardamom golden beet puree’, walnut shitake dirty rice and garnished with roasted rutabaga and celery.

I made this awesome dish last night. The lamb’s flavor was like a cross between bacon and sausage and the light tart beets really brightened up the flavor of the rice. I think you can leave off the rutabagas and the celery but I like the freshness the celery brings and the rutabagas, well hey, how often do you eat a rutabaga. I had the rice left over from the night before; I cooked it in a rice cooker with some dried seaweed I got from Rainbow grocery. If I were to do it again I would just make a sort of risotto instead of the “dirty rice”. The lamb is Australian lamb I got from Costco for 9.99 a lbs (the rack cost me $12 and change), the rutabagas. The beets and celery are all form the farmers market. I get most of my herbs and salts from Rainbow grocery.

If had to do it again I would boil a russet potato and mashed it with the beets to give them a silkier texture. I also would have added cream to the beets as apposed to whole milk. If my wife weren’t starving I would have thrown the rack under the broiler for 30 seconds per side to crisp up the outside. And last but not least I would have roasted the Veggies in a separate pan, they got a little greasy, but for the sake of fewer dishes, roasting in one pan turned out ok.

This dish serves two hungry people or three not so hungry people. Either way you will have roast veggies and beet purée left over. You can also save the beet boiling liquid and reduce it down farther and make a great vinegar syrup witch you can use for strawberries, over vanilla ice cream or as a sauce for steak, pork or lamb.

I really apologize but I don’t cook using measurements. If I had to guess I would say a pinch is half a tablespoon and a dash is a tablespoon. You are just going to have to make this dish yours and change the flavors to your liking.


For the spice rub
Pinch of fennel seeds. Crushed in a mortar or spice grinder.
Pinch of ground Mace
Big pinch of Hickory salt
Pinch of smoky salt
A sprinkle of garlic salt
A small pinch of hot paprika
Three small squirts of ketchup

Beet puree’
Four medium golden beats quartered
Water to cover beets and then some more
Three cloves of peeled garlic
Five cardamom pods
Half an onion quartered
A pinch of Chinese five spice
5 good dashes of Chinese black vinegar*
2 dashes of cider vinegar
1 bay leave
Salt and pepper

Rice
Jasmine or Basmati rice **
Dried seaweed
Dried shitake mushrooms
Two cloves of garlic
Walnut oil
Butter
Chicken broth
Diced Shallot
Diced sage
Salt and pepper

Roast veggies
Three Rutabagas quarter inch sliced
2 ribs celery cut into one-inch slices
Half onion sliced thin
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Lamb
Rack of lamb cleaned up and frenched.


For the lamb

∑ Heat oven to 450
∑ Mix all herbs, salt and ketchup in bowel to form a dry paste
∑ Spread paste all over lamb and let sit until room tempter is reached.

For beet puree’
∑ Add all vinegars to pot
∑ Slightly crush cardamom pods and add to vinegar
∑ Add the rest of ingredients
∑ Add beets
∑ Add water to cover beets and then a little more
∑ Bring to boil

For rice
∑ Put rice and appropriate amount of water for rice in a rice cooker
∑ Add dried seaweed
∑ Cook until done

Put lamb, bone up on a rack, and then place in a baking dish. Spread the rutabaga and the celery around the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place in 450-degree oven for 12-18 minutes or when a thermometer place in the lamb reads 145 degrees for rare.

Cook beets until a paring knife can be easily slid into it. Remove solids from pan and discard cardamom pod and bay leaf. Blend the solids in a food processor, add about and 1/8th cup of cooking liquid, more if you want it tangy. Add a little less than a tablespoon of butter and two dashes of milk; blend in a food processor until smooth. Add more butter or milk if you want it creamier

Heat some of the butter and some of the walnut oil in a saucepan, add diced shallot, cook until clear, about thirty seconds. Add crushed garlic and cook thirty more seconds. Add dried mushrooms to butter. Remove rice from rice cooker and add to shallot, garlic, and mushroom mixture, add small amount of chicken broth. Briefly mix and then cover to keep warm.

Remove lamb from oven and let stand, tented with tin foil for five minutes.
Turn oven to broil and return celery and rutabagas to the broiler and cook until edges brown.

Meanwhile place a large tablespoon full of beet puree’ on plate and spread out on plate.

Add diced sage to rice and stir in. Place a large spoonful of rice in center of the beet circle.

Remove veggies form broiler and place in circle on top of beet puree’, outside of the rice.

Cut the rack of lamb between the rib bones creating lamb chops. Place three chops on the plate in a circle

Garnish with parsley or a dash of paprika or some sliced chive.

I am not a pro recipe writer so I hope this made some sense. Like I said there are things I would do differently if I didn’t have left over rice and fresh mushrooms. I would have made this with fresh mushrooms and a proper rice dish but hey, I didn’t want to waist the rice.

*If Chinese black is unavailable use balsamic and cider. Just use less balsamic.

**I like jasmine rice but I had basmati on hand. If I were making risotto I would use aborio.