Right-bank Bordeaux has slowly become many consumers’ favorite French appellations because of the wines’ versatility. Bottlings such as the 2019 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru from ‘Les Valentines’ spotlight the reasons why. Its dried red currant and mulling spice aromas foreshadow the complex red, black, and blue fruit flavors with judicious oak influences. This great French red will make you want to experiment with new recipes any time of year, so we’ve teamed up with private chef Aly Romero, who created the following entrée that will be a perfect pairing for two this Valentine’s Day:
Rack of Lamb with Greek Yogurt & Herbs
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins.
Total Time: 45 mins.
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
- 1 Rack of Lamb, approximately 8 chops
Marinade:
- 2 cups plain Greek Yogurt, whole milk
- 2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
- ½ Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
- ½ Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, plus more for seasoning lamb
- ½ Tbsp. black pepper, plus more for seasoning lamb
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
- Make marinade for lamb by combining Greek yogurt, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
- Reserve 2-3 Tbsp. of the marinade in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Place rack of lamb in a large ziplock bag and pour remaining marinade all over the lamb, close tight and make sure all sides are covered. Refrigerate and marinate for 2 hours if possible. Remove lamb from fridge 30-60 mins. before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Remove lamb from marinade and scrape off most of the yogurt marinade, discard. Sprinkle all sides of the lamb with salt and pepper.
- Place rack of lamb, bones facing down on a roasting rack. If you have an oven proof temperature probe, place it into the center of the lamb chops, through the side at a horizontal angle. For rare, set it to 125F and for medium rare, set it to 135F.
- Roast lamb for approximately 30-40 minutes until desired doneness, begin checking the temperature if you don’t have a probe after 30 mins. When internal temp reaches 5 degrees before desired doneness, increase oven temp to 500F for last 5 mins. or so to deepen the color of the crust.
- Remove and set aside on a cutting board, tented with foil, rest for 10 mins.
- Slice lamb chops and serve alongside remaining Greek Yogurt sauce.
Chef Notes:
This recipe is for one rack of lamb, approximately 8 chops. To serve larger portions for more guests, double the marinade recipe for 2 racks
Serving suggestion: Roasted baby carrots and crispy Yukon Gold potatoes
Wine pairing: 93 Pt. Les Valentines 2019 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, available now at WTSO.com at 65% of
