Roast rack of lamb with rosemary

Method

• step 1

  Stand the racks of lamb in a china or glass baking dish, scatter the garlic and rosemary over the top, and drizzle with the olive oil. Leave to marinate for at least 4 hours (or overnight if you have the time), turning occasionally.

• step 2

  Preheat the oven to fan 200C/ conventional 220C/gas 7. Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy frying pan over a moderately high heat and brown two of the racks well on the meaty sides for about 1-2 minutes, then turn and brown the other sides for a further 1 minute. Finally, brown the ends briefly so that all of the exposed meat is seared. Remove and repeat with the remaining two racks.

• step 3

  Rack of lamb cooking time:

  Put racks in a large roasting tin, standing them in pairs with their bones interlinked. Roast for about 15 minutes for very pink meat, 20 minutes for medium rare (temperature 54C) and 25 minutes for medium/well-done and 30 minutes for well done. To test the lamb stick a skewer or the point of a knife into the centre of the meat, leave it for 30 seconds and then test it against the inside of your wrist, it should feel hot. If it still feels cold then keep cooking the lamb as it will still be raw in the centre. Test again after 5 mins.

• step 4

  Transfer the lamb to a warmed plate, cover loosely with foil, and allow to rest in a warm place for about 10 minutes before carving (if you have to wait longer than this, you may want to return the lamb to the oven for a minute or so before serving, to bring back up to temperature). Carve into cutlets and serve on warmed plates with a spoonful of the chickpea stew.