Sous vide rack of lamb with zhug, buttermilk and grilled spring onions
- medium
- 4
- 30 minutes
Chantelle Nicholson serves up a stunning sous vide lamb rack recipe, perfect for dinner parties. She serves the beautifully tender lamb with zhug (a spiced herb paste hailing from Yemen), sous vide spring onions and strained buttermilk.
First published in 2017
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Sous vide rack of lamb
- 2 racks of lamb
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 bunch of rosemary
- 25g of butter
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Buttermilk
- 120g of buttermilk
Brine
- 70g of table salt
- 1/4 tsp white peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Zhug
- 1 bunch of coriander, small (28g), leaves picked
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, small (28g), leaves picked
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely diced
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
- 1 cardamom pod, finely crushed
- 2 cloves, finely crushed
- 1/2 tsp agave nectar
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely microplaned
- 50ml of olive oil
- 1/2 tsp table salt
Sous vide griddled spring onions
- 2 bunches of spring onions, roots left on, washed
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/4 bunch of thyme
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- J-cloth
- Piping bags
- Large vacuum bags 3
- Bar sealer
- Water bath
- Blender
- Chargrill pan
Method
1
To begin, place the buttermilk in a sieve lined with a J-cloth and place over a bowl. Leave to strain in the fridge for 6 hours
- 120g of buttermilk
2
After this time, scrape the strained buttermilk out of the J-cloth into a new bowl and whisk until smooth. Place in a piping bag and refrigerate
3
To make the brine for the lamb, place all the ingredients in a saucepan, add 500ml warm water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and add 500ml cold water. Allow to cool completely before using
- 1 bay leaf
- 70g of table salt
- 1/4 tsp white peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 3 sprigs of thyme
4
Fully submerge the lamb racks in the brine and place in the fridge for 6 hours
5
Preheat a water bath to 55°C
6
When ready to cook the lamb, rinse the racks well and pat dry. Season well, place in 2 large vacuum bags and add some oil and rosemary to each one. Seal with a bar sealer and cook in the water bath for 3 hours
- 1/2 bunch of rosemary
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- sea salt
7
While the lamb is cooking, make the zhug. Place all the ingredients in a blender jug with 2 tbsp of water and blend until a chunky paste is formed. Season to taste
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1 bunch of coriander, small (28g), leaves picked
- 1/2 bunch of parsley, small (28g), leaves picked
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely diced
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
- 1 cardamom pod, finely crushed
- 2 cloves, finely crushed
- 1/2 tsp agave nectar
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely microplaned
- 50ml of olive oil
8
When ready, remove the lamb from the water bath and increase the temperature to 80°C (to cook the spring onions)
9
To prepare the spring onions, place in a sous vide bag with the olive oil and thyme and season well. Seal with a bar sealer and place in the water bath for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a
chargrill pan until almost smoking for when the spring onions are ready
- 1/4 bunch of thyme
- 2 bunches of spring onions, roots left on, washed
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
10
To brown the lamb, place the butter in a frying pan over a high heat. When foaming, add the lamb racks fat-side down and cook until golden, for approximately 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep in a warm place to rest for 5 minutes
- 25g of butter
11
Pour any cooking juices from the sous vide bag in the pan and reduce to a glaze
12
Remove the spring onions from the bag and quickly brown in the chargrill pan
13
To serve, carve the lamb racks into 12 pieces. Divide the spring onions between the plates, add 3 lamb pieces to each plate and drizzle the pan juices over the lamb. Pipe the buttermilk on the plate, spoon over some zhug and serve
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