Main Courses
Racks of lamb with Cranberry Sauce
| 2 x 8 cutlet | french-trimmed racks of lamb |
| 4 slices | wholemeal bread, crusts removed |
| 1 tablespoon | thyme leaves |
| 2 cloves | garlic, crushed |
| black pepper, to taste | |
| 1 tablespoon | olive oil |
| 2 tablespoons | dijon mustard |
| 1 tablespoon | plain flour |
| 1 cup (250mL) | chicken stock |
| ½ cup (140g) | whole berry cranberry sauce |
| 2 teaspoons | grated ginger |
- Preheat oven to 180oC. Trim excess fat from the lamb.
- Tear the bread, place in a food processor, process to make breadcrumbs.
- Combine in a bowl with the thyme, garlic, pepper and oil. Spread the outside of the lamb racks with the mustard and press the crumb mixture on firmly.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan to medium, place the lamb racks breadcrumb-side down into the pan, cook for 2 minutes or until browned.
- Carefully lift out racks with a spatula and transfer to a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked as desired. Loosely cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, blend the flour in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup of the stock until smooth.
- Add the remaining stock, cranberry sauce and ginger, stir over high heat until simmering, cook for 2 minutes.
- Cut each rack of lamb into 4 and serve each person 2 pieces.
- Drizzle with the cranberry sauce.
Tip: Serve with roasted potatoes and steamed vegetables, if desired.
Cooking with Cranberries - preparation tips
Always remember to:
- Cook frozen cranberries just until they pop. Longer cooking brings out their bitterness and makes them mushy.
- Do not use aluminium cookware when cooking cranberries as the berries' acid reacts with aluminium and causes it to discolour. Use stainless steel, glass or porcelain.
- Eliminate foaming and over boiling when cooking frozen cranberries by adding one teaspoon of butter.
Preparing cranberries:
- Chop cranberries in a food processor, using quick on/off pulses, to save time.
- When cooking, add a little salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder to cranberry sauce to reduce the amount of sugar needed and bring out the cranberry flavour.
- Soak dried cranberries in warm water, orange juice or a liqueur for 20 to 30 minutes to get plumper berries which can be used as a substitute for frozen or fresh cranberries in many recipes.
- For baked goods (i.e. muffins, cakes or slices), chop frozen cranberries and toss them with sugar before stirring into the batter to improve sweetening.
