Ingredients

Adjust Servings:

	2 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
	1 rack of Lamb with 8 cutlets, French trimmed (ask your butcher to do this)
	Sea Salt
	freshly ground Black Pepper
	50 g Black Olive tapenade or minced pitted olives
	500 g baby Spinach , washed and coarsely chopped
	2 cups (500 ml) good-quality Tomato sugo
	16 Kalamata Olives , pitted
	2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Parsley
	Crumb
	60 g fine sourdough Breadcrumbs
	1 tablespoon Black Chia Seeds
	1½ tablespoons Flax Seeds (linseeds), blended to a coarse crumb
	1 teaspoon Thyme leaves
	Sea Salt flakes
	20 g Unsalted Butter , melted

Spring lamb rack with olive crumb on a bed of spinach and tomato sugo recipe

Name: Spring lamb rack with olive crumb on a bed of spinach and tomato sugo recipe
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients: Olive Oil: 2 tablespoons extra virgin; Lamb: 1 rack of; Sea Salt; Black Pepper: freshly ground; Black Olive: 50 g; Spinach: 500 g baby; Tomato: 2 cups (500 ml) good-quality; Kalamata Olives: 16; Parsley: 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf; Breadcrumbs: 60 g fine sourdough; Black Chia Seeds: 1 tablespoon; Flax Seeds: 1½ tablespoons; Thyme: 1 teaspoon; Sea Salt; Unsalted Butter: 20 g

Serves 4
Medium

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
1 rack of Lamb
Sea Salt
freshly ground Black Pepper
50 g Black Olive
500 g baby Spinach
2 cups (500 ml) good-quality Tomato
16 Kalamata Olives
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Parsley
Crumb
60 g fine sourdough Breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Black Chia Seeds
1½ tablespoons Flax Seeds
1 teaspoon Thyme
Sea Salt
20 g Unsalted Butter

Directions

As with any ingredient, but particularly meat, the quality will be influenced by the breed and by the farming practices. It’s not a level playing field so finding a butcher you can trust to share this knowledge with you is important. We often have either our own Wiltshire lamb or the local Suffolk lamb – both are breeds where the texture of the lamb is noticeably different. The olive crumb needs a careful hand and brushing the tapenade on first helps the crumb to stay in place. Spinach, silverbeet and chard grow like the clappers in my garden and would in yours too. Although the photo might not show lots of it, it’s worthy of a big dish on its own when it’s freshly picked.

Steps

1 Done	Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan-forced). Place a wire rack over a baking tray.
2 Done	To make the crumb, combine the breadcrumbs, seeds, LSA, thyme and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter until well combined.
3 Done	Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Season the lamb rack to taste, then add to the pan, fat-side down first, and cook for 10 minutes or until golden on all sides. Brush the top side of the lamb with a thick layer of olive tapenade then press the crumb mixture on top. Place, crumb-side up, on the prepared rack and roast for 10–12 minutes for rare– medium rare lamb. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 10 minutes.
4 Done	While the lamb is resting, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the spinach and toss for 1–2 minutes or until just wilted. Remove from the heat and season to taste.
5 Done	Warm the tomato sugo in a small saucepan, then spread over a large serving platter. Top with the spinach. Carve the lamb into cutlets and place on top, scatter with the olives and parsley and serve.