Roasted lamb rack with bulgur, butternut, asparagus, and Aleppo chili sesame sauce

This delicious Mediterranean lamb rack dish is full of flavor. The bulgur comes with roasted butternut, sage, and hazelnuts. The green asparagus gives a real vibrance to the dish. The lamb is roasted with garlic and thyme which will really bring those Mediterranean aromas to life. And then there is that sauce, super easy to make with spice from the Aleppo chili and a delicious crunch from the toasted sesame.

Rack of lamb with bulgur and asparagus

A Mediterranean combination of succulent lamb with bulgur, roasted butternut, green asparagus, and an Aleppo chili sesame sauce

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: bulgur, lamb, lamb roast, rack of lamb, sesame sauce

Servings: 4 people

Author: Bart van der Lee

Equipment

• Food thermometer
• small rice cooker

Ingredients

Voor the lamb rack

• 2 Lamb racks extra trimmed
• 25 gram butter
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 gram thyme

For the green asparagus

• 500 gram green asparagus

For the bulgur with roasted butternut

• 150 gram bulgur
• 225 ml water
• 1 small butternut squash
• 50 gram roasted hazelnuts
• 5 gram sage
• 15 gram butter

For the Aleppo chili and sesame sauce

• 30 gram white sesame seeds
• 50 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp Aleppo chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Instructions

For the bulgur with roasted butternut

• Cook the bulgur in a small rice cooker with water and a pinch of salt.
• Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cut into finger-sized pieces. Coat lightly with olive oil and salt and roast them in the oven at 220°c for about 20-25 minutes. Turn them once halfway through so they get a nice roast on both sides.
• Heat a small knob of butter in a pan and add the cooked bulgur, roasted butternut, hazelnuts, and chopped sage. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside.

For the Lamb rack

• Lower the heat of the oven to 180°c after the butternut is roasted.

  Season the lamb racks with pepper and salt on all sides. Heat a large frying pan with a drop of oil and fry the racks golden brown on both sides in about 8-10 minutes. When they are golden brown, lower the heat and remove the excess oil. Now add a knob of butter and roast on medium heat for another 5-7 minutes. Just before the end, you add the garlic and thyme and you bask the meat in that deliciously flavoured butter. Turn off the heat source and leave the meat to rest in the pan for 5 minutes.
• Now you can place the pan with the racks in a preheated oven at 180°c and cook for about 15-20 minutes whilst checking the core temperature with your thermometer. You will want to check the temperature a few times to assure you cook it to the perfect medium. Medium is between 58-62°C. Leave the racks to rest in a warm place and cover with aluminum foil until you ready to serve. If you prefer your meat a bit more cooked you can leave it in the oven longer. For medium-well it needs to be around 68°c core temperature.

For the green asparagus

• Blanch the green asparagus in lightly salted water.

For the Aleppo chili sesame sauce

• Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan till they are golden brown. Add the olive oil, Aleppo chili, oregano, and salt and leave this to cool down. Chop the parsley and add to the sauce just before serving.