Michael Madsen’s crusted lamb is rich with flavor. The mustard-hazelnut crust seals the meat and keeps it moist as it cooks; the raspberry flavor note in the demi-glace sauce is the perfect compliment. The sauce would be wonderful with game dishes as well.
Chef Michael Madsen, The Great House at Villa Madeleine, Christianstad, St. Croix
Serves 2 to 4
1/2 cup shelled hazelnuts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 2 to 2-1/2 pound rack of lamb, Frenched
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Tambourine’s Demi-Glace
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1/4 cup raspberries
1/2 ounce Chambord
1/2 cup prepared demi-glace
Vegetable Saute
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup cleaned shiitake mushrooms
1 cup sugar snap peas
4 to 6 cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
To prepare the lamb:
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the hazelnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat and toast until they begin to color and give off their aromatic oils, about 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a large roasting pan, melt the butter and sear the lamb rack on all sides until browned. Pulse the nuts, salt and pepper in a food processor until the nuts are coarsely ground; add the shallots and pulse once or twice until chopped. Stir in the mustard. Coat the lamb rack with the mustard mixture, return it to the roasting pan, fat-side up.
Place the lamb in the oven, reduce the heat to 400 F, and roast until the internal temperature reaches 140 F on a meat thermometer (about 25 minutes; medium rare). Remove the lamb from the oven, cover with a tent of foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
To make the framboise demi-glace:
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Carefully pour the clarified butter into a medium skillet. Dispose of the milk solids that settled to the bottom, or freeze them for later use. Reheat the clarified butter over medium-high heat and add the shallots. Cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add the raspberries and stir. Add the Chambord, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until reduced in half by volume. Stir in the demi-glace and remove from the heat.
To make the vegetables:
Melt the butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat and saute the mushrooms, sugar snaps and tomatoes until softened and lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.
To serve:
Cut the lamb into individual chops. Place a scoop of vegetables to one side on each plate. Drizzle the plate with framboise demi-glace. Place the chops in the sauce, bone up, leaning against the vegetables.