Za’atar Rack of Lamb with Wild Blueberry Rosemary Sauce

When I want to make a special meal for Jim and myself, I often turn to rack of lamb.

First of all, it just looks so dramatic and elegant.  We both love how the meat is always tender, and it cooks up like a dream, whether grilling, stove top searing, or oven roasting. Juicy results for barely any time invested.  And lamb is the perfect canvas for all sorts of flavour bursts.  Naturally, a good yogurt and garlic sauce like Tzatziki works fabulously on lamb.  Summer skewers, that tangy dip, with a crisp Greek salad and I’m a happy camper.

Today I’m offering you a cool weather option.  Oven roasted rack of lamb with a rich wild blueberry sauce.  Bonne Maman, the creators of some of the most amazing preserves and fruit spreads on the planet asked me to come up with a savoury way to use their new Intense Wild Blueberry Spread.  I think I’ve nailed it!!

This meal comes together in less than an hour from beginning to end.  Of course, this doesn’t include the resting time for the lamb before searing. The most simple prep work, and next thing you know you’re popping open a bottle of wine and tossing the salad. So here we go:

First off: Cooking a rack of lamb. Usually one rack will have anywhere between 8 and 10 ribs intact.  Depending on the amount of meat on the rack, one rack will generously feed two, or up to 3 people.  I count on one rack for the two of us, even if it means one or two of the chops become midnight snacking.  So to feed a family of four, or two couples, two racks are plenty.  We’re going to coat them in a wonderfully herby and spicy blend to give them a head start in building up some flavour.  This marinade features the great flavours of za’atar and sumac, middle eastern spices that are bright, almost cistrusy in nature.  Paprika and pepper add warmth, and of course a bit of garlic never hurt!  This will get rubbed all over the rack and left to settle in for a good hour before searing.  Or you could prep theis the evening before and store the racks in the fridge, then the next day you can move right on to searing. After a quick sear on both sides, the rack goes into the oven to finish roasting.  Within 20 minutes you have the most tender, juicy meat to cut into.  All it needs is a fun sauce to make it fancy enough for company.

And this is where a fabulous wild blueberry sauce steps up.  Fruit and lamb work so amazing together.  Blueberry is one of my faves to go with all sorts of meat, from pork to venison.  I’ve taken a blueberry sauce that works great, and updated to showcase Bonne Maman’s new Intense Spread collection.  The collection includes Apricot, Cherry, Orange, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Wild Blueberry.  What takes these spreads up a notch from the already wonderful line of Bonne Maman preserves is that these are truly intense!  They are all natural with no artificial flavours or colours, no additives or preservatives, no corn syrup.  What they do have is plenty of fruit! Their traditional French recipes relay on pure fruit, sugar, fruit pectin and lemon juice.  That’s it.  So choosing the Wild Blueberry Spread to be part of this sauce only made it even more delicious.

The sauce is a blend of fresh or frozen blueberries, the Wild Blueberry Spread, good Canadian maple syrup, fresh rosemary and cracked fresh coriander seeds, bright sumac, salt and pepper, and a bit of sherry vinegar to balance out the sweetness with a bit of acidity.  The sauce comes together quickly on the stove top in a skillet while the lamb rests after coming out of the oven. Once the lamb has rested to let the juices settle back in, a spoonful of this sauce over each chop is all that is needed.  Add a side of saffron rice, roasted potatoes, a good mash, and a salad or sautéed broccolini, and you will have the most memorable meal, for very little effort.

If you want to check out Bonne Maman’s new Spreads, along with all their other wonderful jams and preserves, click right here.  They have sponsored this post.

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Za'atar Rack of Lamb with Wild Blueberry and Rosemary Sauce

Worthy of company and yet so easy to whip up, these tender and juicy racks of lamb are made even more delicious with a Wild Blueberry and Rosemary Sauce

Course Main Course

Keyword rack of lamb, rosemary, sumac, wild blueberries, za'atar

Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Resting time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Za'atar Lamb

• 2 racks of Lamb
• 2 tablespoon za’atar
• 2 Tbsp sumac
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp coarse ground pepper
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp garlic powder do not use fresh garlic, it will scorch in the searing
• 2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Wild Blueberry and Rosemary Sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup Bonne Maman Intense Wild Blueberry Spread
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp cracked fresh coriander seeds
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp arrowroot starch
• 1 tbsp water

Instructions

Za'atar Lamb

1. Combine the za’atar, sumac, paprika, pepper, salt, garlic powder, rosemary and oil in a small bowl. Spread this mixture all over the meat of the lamb racks, getting both sides. Let this rest in a shallow baking dish for one hour, or sealed overnight in the fridge.
2. When ready to sear, have the oven preheated to 400F. Bring a large cast iron skillet to medium high heat. Add a tbsp of olive oil and let it get warmed through properly. Sear the lamb racks for 5-6 minutes on each side until gently charred (but not scorched) on medium-high heat. Adjust heat if necessary. Do this in batches if your pan isn't large enough to hold both at the same time.
3. Place both racks of lamb onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven until 140 degrees has been reached. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Let them rest for 10-15 minutes to let the juices settle. Make your sauce during this time.

Wild Blueberry and Rosemary Sauce

1. Warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the blueberries, the Wild Blueberry Spread, maple syrup, fresh rosemary, coriander, sumac, salt and pepper into the skillet. Drop the heat to medium and cook, allowing the berries to burst. You can help them along after about 3 minutes, gently pushing on the back of them with a wooden spoon. After about 5 minutes, you will find that the sauce is starting to thicken. Add the sherry vinegar and stir through.

2. At this point, combine the the arrowroot starch and water in a small bowl. Add this slurry to the the sauce and stir through completely. Let it cook off for 1-2 minutes. If you like the consistency then you are done. You may thin it out a touch if desired.
3. Cut between the rack of lamb into individual portions. Serve the chops with the sauce, either below or on top.

Recipe Notes

This recipe feeds four.  You can easily halve the recipe for date night!