This recipe is great for when you want to spend some time with your guests, and not only spend time in the kitchen. It does take some prep effort, but once we’re entering the “hot phase”, everything is done in the oven just fine. The ratatouille is based on the Confit Byaldi recipe by Thomas Keller of The French Laundry.
This should feed 4 persons.
The lamb rack
Ingredients:
2 Lamb racks (16 ribs total)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 glass of strong red wine (I used a Nero d’ Avola from Sicily)
Provence herbs
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Some salt, tumeric, cayenne pepper
Butter for roasting
Preparation:
The night before: Heat olive oil in pan, cook provence herbs and garlic in oil. Do not fry, rather let the taste extract. Cool down, add red wine and remaining spices, and use the whole to marinade the lamb racks in a plastic bag in the fridge over night.
Take lamb racks out of plastic bag, and bring to room temperature. Melt butter in medium skillet on high heat. Briefly fry lamb racks from all sides in skillet. Put into roasting pan, and cook for at least two hours in oven at 80°C. Once the ratatouille is ready for final heating, you can keep both the lamb racks (in the pan covered with foil, at the bottom of the oven) and the ratatouille (open, top of oven) at 150°C during the final phase.
For serving, cut rack into individual segments, make little tents out of four segments by fanning them open and sprinkle very lightly with fleur de sel (I promise, next time, I’ll take some photos!).
For the ratatouille:
Ingredients
Piperade:
1/2 red pepper, 1/2 yellow pepper, 1 pointy orange pepper
1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 Tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 round tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped, juice reserved
3 sprigs thyme
1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
1/2 bay leaf
fleur de sel
Vegetable topping:
1 nice zucchini, cut into 1.5mm rounds
1 “thin” aubergine, cut into 1.5mm rounds
2 small butternut pumpkins, peeled and cut into 1.5mm rounds
4 Roma tomatoes (oblong), cut into 1.5mm rounds
2tsp olive oil
2 sprigs thyme
Fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper.
Vinaigrette:
1 Tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Finely chopped chervil, thyme
Fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper.
Preparation:
First, prepare the piperade as base for the confit. Clean and gut the peppers and put them cut side down on aluminum foil. Place in oven at 230°C for ~15 minutes, until skin begins to lift. Cool slightly, and peel. Cut into small dices. Heat oil in pan on medium heat, and slowly cook onions and garlic until soft and translucent, but not brown. Add tomatoes, tomato juice, and parsley, thyme and bayleaf. Simmer until most liquid has evaporated (~ 15min). Add peppers and continue simmering until peppers are soft. Season to taste with salt, discard herbs. Reserve 1 Tsp of mixture, spread rest in bottom of roasting pan.
Pre-heat oven to 135°C. Place vegetable slices on top of spread piperade, alternating vegetables. Start with one line down the center of pan, then fill up pan spiraling from outside to inside. Overlap slices so that 1/4 of slices remain visible. Completely cover the pan, but don’t necessarily use all slices. Lightly pepper and salt, mix olive oil with thyme leaves, and drizzle over vegetable slices. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.
Place in oven for ~2h at 135°C, until vegetable slices are tender. Uncover and continue baking for 30 minutes to evaporate excess liquid. Remove from oven. At this point, the ratatouille can be kept in the fridge for later use (which makes it taste even better!). To prepare, warm up in 150°C oven, together with the lamb racks.
For serving, cut ratatouille into even portions in pan. Lift portion out, and serve, slightly fanning on plate with spatula.
Vinaigrette: Serve ratatouille with vinaigrette, made by combining the reserved piperade with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Puree. Season to taste with salt, pepper and finely chopped chervil and thyme.
Bon appetit!
