ROAST RACK OF LAMB WITH PUMPKIN AND POTATO

Buy your rack already French-trimmed by a reputable butcher, along with a small piece of tenderloin, which gives depth to this autumnal roasting pan delight. Gennaro recommends buying the lamb at least a day before and keeping it in the fridge to rest. That way it will be easier to roast, and more shapely.

ROAST RACK OF LAMB WITH PUMPKIN AND POTATO

Serves 4

• 2 French-trimmed 8-rib racks of lamb, cut into 4-rib sections
• 400g (14oz) lamb tenderloin, cut into chunks of an inch or more
• 450g (1lb) peeled potatoes
• 450g (1lb) pumpkin, peeled
• Four sprigs of rosemary and four sage leaves
• 8 peeled cloves of garlic
• A knob of butter
• Olive oil, salt and pepper

The potato and pumpkin can be chopped any way you prefer, but Gennaro advises not making the chunks too small. In the version of this dish served at Le Sirenuse’s La Sponda restaurant, he likes to cut the potatoes into long wedges and the pumpkin into cylinders around an inch in diameter and maybe an inch and a half in height.

Once the potatoes have been cut into your desired shapes, put them in a basin of cold water for around half an hour so that they release some of their starch, then rinse well. Begin by pre-heating the oven to 180°C (350°F).  Heat some oil in a cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pan, throw in two of the garlic cloves, and when the oil is hot but not smoking, add the potatoes. Stir so they don’t stick, add salt and pepper to taste, and turn off the heat when they’re a light golden brown. Then place them in the oven for half an hour, either in the same pan or in a pre-heated roasting pan.

Subject the pumpkin to the same treatment – except here, when you heat the oil in the pan and toss in the two garlic cloves, also add two of the sprigs of rosemary, then the pumpkin chunks. They will need less time in the pan and in the oven than the potatoes – probably six or seven minutes in the pan and fifteen to twenty in the oven.

In a capacious cast iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat a generous spiral of olive oil on a lively flame, and add the four racks of lamb. Turn ito colour on all sides, adjust for salt and pepper, then add the tenderloin chunks, the remaining four cloves of garlic (crushed with the back of a knife), the two remaining rosemary sprigs, the four sage leaves, and the knob of butter. Continue browning for seven or eight minutes until fully cooked. Remove from the pan and with a sturdy knife, cut each of the 4-rib racks into a pair of 2-rib pieces so the pink meat is on view.

Arrange the ingredients on warmed plates with the interlocking 2-rib racks in the centre.

Photos © Roberto Salomone