Rack of Lamb with Pistachio Herb and Garlic Crumb

Stuck for Sunday lunch? Look no further! Rack of lamb with pistachio herb and garlic crumb is a heartbreakingly tender roast and a jaw-dropping centrepiece. And, unbelievably, this sensational seasonal dish takes a mere 35-minutes oven time. 

This lamb recipe is a modest 2-4 servings. If you’re planning a bigger Easter gathering but still want to showcase the best of Spring meat, a whole roast leg of lamb with mint will stretch between 6-8 diners.

The colours are finally creeping back into the English countryside. Spring is here! Yellow daffodils have sprung up, blue tits are fluttering to hedges, and white magnolias are blooming in my garden. And fresh green grass is rolling out like a glorious carpet. 

And good grass means good meat. It’s the end of lambing season in the UK (February and March) and ewes are chomping the lush grass, nourishing their newborn lambs with their mothers’ milk. 

In a few weeks’ time this extra special Spring lamb will be available for consumption. Spring lamb is the young, milk-fed lamb that has a flavour and texture like no other meat and only comes around once a year (here in the UK). It’s worth noting that US-produced lamb is primarily grain-fed and therefore has a milder and fattier profile.

As my Welsh neighbours produce some of the best lamb worldwide, I never miss the opportunity at Easter. As usual, I’ll be serving a delicious and dramatic rack of lamb with all the seasonal vegetables I can get my hands on.

Herb crusted rack of lamb

Grass-fed lamb has a truly distinctive flavour. It tastes, well, grassy! If you have a good nose, you could detect its pastoral notes; heather, clover and dandelion, even wild garlic and herbs. 

Which is why flavour combinations like garlic, mint and parsley work so well. This roast lamb recipe compliments the heady meat with studs of garlic, and a piney pistachio, grassy parsley, and milk-rich butter crumb. 

Meat and mustard are a common pairing. In this recipe, the mustard also serves to hold the crust mixture to the lamb. I’ve used This is an affiliate link.Dijón here as I find it less abrasive than English, and wholegrain interferes with the crunchy breadcrumb and chopped nut texture. 

Although the meat is devastatingly succulent already, I like a lick of gravy too. I think it’s important not to overpower the precious lamb here, so my recipe is simple and designed not to be too thick. 

What goes with it

This stunningly seasonal herb crusted rack of lamb should be garlanded with equally seasonal sides and dessert (if you can!). My table on Easter Sunday will look a lot like this:

• Boiled and buttered new pots with sliced spring onions
• Savoy cabbage gratin or miso butter roasted cabbage steaks
• Brilliantly colourful roasted asparagus and radishes
• Maple glazed young carrots, or purple sprouting broccoli with lemon and garlic
• Classic, custard-drenched rhubarb crumble 

Storage and leftovers

Rack of lamb is a convenient family-of-four-sized roast. The half rack will come with eight chops, so that’s two each. I’m not expecting any leftovers! Besides this delicate and tender cut does not keep well in the cold, the meat dries and toughens sadly.

That said, if you are stuck with a chop or two, the leftover roast meat will keep for 3-4 days in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container in the fridge. You might want to remove the meat from the bones first though in order to save space!

The best way to repurpose the lamb leftovers is in a soup, stew or curry. Slice up the cold cuts and sprinkle into your dish while cooking.

More recipes to try

• Slow Cooked Mississippi Pot Roast
• Slow Cooker Lamb in Red Wine Sauce
• Pulled Lamb Birria Tacos (Slow Cooker Recipe)
• Spatchcock Roast Chicken in Breadcrumbs and Potatoes