2023 Tour de France - Stage 20: Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering.
One last day in the mountains, if you can believe it; seems like this was the most mountainous Tour I can recall. I didn’t get to watch as I had a long slog of a morning myself. Did a little dryer machine repai, some fencing fix-up, and now hurriedly typing out this blog post, because I want to jump in the shower and head to a winery to relax! It’s all about balance…kind of like the balance you need to find in this luscious blueberry sauce…which recipe I meticulously wrote down when I made this a couple weeks ago, and of course I’ve lost it. So, hopefully this is pretty close...c'est la vie!
Rack of Lamb with Blueberry Sauce
Shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
Fresh thyme
2 cups of blueberries
Red wine
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp reduced balsamic vinegar
2 tsp whole grain mustard
1 rack of lamb - 8 ribs
1 or 2 tbsp of butter, cubed
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a small saucepan, heat some oil and sauté the shallot for a few minutes. Add in ⅓ of the garlic and the blueberries and cook until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in some dijon mustard and a splash of red wine, along with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium simmer.
Continue to cook until the blueberries burst, then pass through a strainer and return to the pot with the vinegar. Stir and warm through; hold until ready to serve.
While the sauce cooks away, dry the rack of lamb and season it with kosher salt and black pepper. Combine 2 cloves of garlic with about a tablespoon of fresh thyme in a mini-prep and pulse to mince. Add in some evoo and process until a loose paste forms. Rub the mixture all over the lamb.
Preheat a skillet, with 2 tbsp evoo, over medium-high heat.
Once the skillet is hot and the oil is rippling, lay the lamb bone side down and brown for 3 minutes. Using tongs, lift the lamb so the bones point up, brown for about 30 seconds, and then lay the meat down on the non-seared side. After two minutes, transfer to the oven and roast until you reach your desired temperature. I went with just above rare and pulled it at 142 (this takes about 10 minutes). Let the lamb rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
Once ready to serve and the lamb is resting, reheat the sauce over low and whisk in the butter.
To serve, cut the lamb into 4 double-bone chops. Using a tablespoon, plate some sauce and stack the lamb, serving remaining sauce at the table if desired.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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