With Easter quickly approaching, I have been keeping an eye out for ideas for a nice holiday dinner. Over the last few years I have been associating lamb with Easter and when I saw this recipe for a pistachio crusted rack of lamb it definitely caught my attention. I had been wanting to try cooking a rack of lamb for a while and I really liked the sound of a pistachio crust held on by a tangy mustard and mint paste. While looking for recipes for lamb dishes I came across one that included a pomegranate port sauce which sounded good and since the meal already had some Mediterranean flavours in it I thought that the sauce would be a nice addition. It was actually pretty easy cooking the rack of lamb and it turned out great! There is not much meat on a rack of lamb so it cooks up fast and I got it out of the oven just in time to keep it a nice medium rare. After letting the rack rest for a while I cut between the bones to get individual slices. After placing the lamb on the plate I drizzled some of the pomegranate sauce beside it. The lamb was nice and tender and the slightly crunchy pistachio crust was nice and tasty. The pistachios, lemon, mustard and mint worked well together and the pomegranate sauce added a nice finishing touch. Another great lamb dish for the recipe collection!
Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb with a Pomegranate Port Sauce
ingredients
- 1/4 cup pistachios (chopped)
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mint (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 rack of lamb
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Mix the pistachios, bread crumbs, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl.
- Mix the mustard, mint and garlic in another bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large pan.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
- Brown the lamb in all sides on high heat, about 2 minutes per side.
- Spread the mustard mixture over the lamb.
- Press the breadcrumb mixture into the mustard.
- Bake in a preheated 425F/220C oven until a meat thermometer reads 140-150F, about 10-20 minutes.
- Remove form oven cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Pomegranate Port Sauce
ingredients
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup ruby port wine
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- * sugar
- 1 tablespoons butter (chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Bring the red wine and port to a boil.
- Simmer to reduce by half.
- Mix in the pomegranate molasses.
- Taste test for sweetness and add sugar if necessary.
- Mix in the butter and season with salt and pepper just before serving.
Good god Kevin you rack the lamb in a BIG way!
Nicely done!
Pretty plate. I’ve never made a pomegranate sauce. Sounds interesting.
i love pistachio crusts. they’re so flavorful. that sauce sounds AMAZING!
Kevin, this is a knockout meal, both with flavor and presentation.
Nice take on the traditional lamb-and-pomegranate combination. This dish will be beautiful on the Easter table.
Oh wow! Looks beautiful. It makes me almost forget that I don’t like lamb… but my brother loves it so I am going to pass this on to him if you don’t mind!
This recipe is lovely… your blog is lovely too. Tks for visiting mine.
Kevin, you always amaze me, this dish is very chic and fabulous.
The lamb chops look amazing! I love the flavour combinations you have here.
Spectacular!
excellent easter dinner! the pomegranate sauce sounds divine!
A great idea for Easter! These racks look really good!
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks amazing.
That sounds AMAZING! And nice plating, with the drizzle of sauce.
wow… how elegant and sophisticated… 🙂
Wow!!! I’m not usually big on lamb (I know — its weird) but this looks absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!
The best thing about rack of lamb is the scotch broth you can make from the bones that are left.
Love it – The pomegranate port sauce sounds especially yummy!
I love the pomegranate port sauce – only thing is – pistachios are banned in my part of the country right now…
I like the idea of a pistachio crust for the Lamb. It looks great!
I love the marriage of flavours here Kevin…very interesting blend. Anything with pistachios wins my vote too…YUM!
You may have just gotten me out of my lamb with olive oil, rosemary and garlic rut. Looks fabulous.
WOW kevin this looks beautiful even though lamb is not my favourite meat, however now it looks like lamb has just moved up my list of favs!
Kevin, that looks like it could be on the cover of Cooking Light!
I’ve never tried lamb before, but have seen it cooked many times on the Food TV network.
It looks amazing!!
Looks incredible and I love that port sauce – what a wonderful combination!!
It looks so elegant!
This version of lamb does sound incredible Kevin. I am reaally enjoying the port/pomegrante sauce.
I am not a huge fan of lamb but I have to admit they look fantastic.
I am going to make this the minute that pistachios are safe to eat again! I don’t know if I can wait that long…
What a beautiful meal. Love the combo of lamb and pistachios.
Kevin,
thanks for visiting my blog. Let me know what you think of the basil ice cream when you try it. Have you ever had cardamom or ginger ice cream? Unbelievable!
CIAO!
Wow. Wow.
Mmm, sounds like something to think about for Easter!
This is just simply gorgeous! Beautiful combo of flavors for my most favorite of meats.
Umm, that lamb looks nice & tasty!
Hi Kevin – I made that same dish last March. We loved it. I have to agree, a great combination of flavors there!
LL
I can’t even handle this recipe – it looks way too delicious!
Looks really pretty and appetising! Love the crust.
This looks and sounds delicious! I’m a big fan of lamb and always glad to find new ways to cook it.
I love lamb, and this sounds incredible. Sauce sounds good too.
I love pistachios! I’ll admit I’m not too familiar with lamb, but this sounds pretty tasty.
Hey, thanks for the great recipe. I am going to try making it today. Do you have any recipe that adds acai juice?
Kevin,
I'm getting inspired from all of your beautiful port/red wine/pomegranate sauces! I'm looking for something to pair with a sous vide pork belly for our Halloween party tomorrow (the belly is in it's 12-hour jacuzzi as I speak). I'm thinking port/pomegranate with a few of the pomegranate seeds scattered about…kinda like clotted blood drops…scary, Halloween, you know!
Denise @ There's a Newf in My Soup!: That sounds like a great Halloween meal!
I just finished eating this for dinner with my family, along with your onion gratin. The lamb was beautiful, i loved it. I added walnuts in to the crust along with the pistachios, and I didnt have any red wine so i used a semi-dry white for the sauce, which worked beautifully. My family actually made me cook it longer, however, because they aren't used to eating meat that isn't completely brown! As for me, I loved it just the way it was, pink and beautiful 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
Awesome recipe. Absolutely love it 🙂
Here's another recipe you might like.
http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/rack-of-lamb-with-rosemary-and-mustard-crust-with-garlic-roasted-potatoes/
Thanks for sharing.
Gem
Gem: A whole grain mustard crust would also be good!
Just found your amazing blog on Google search. I love rack of lamb and this one looks very tasty. I think red wine sauce is a perfect match to lamb and you made it even better with the pistachio crust and pomegranate in your sauce. Great post.