Those of you who have been following me for a while know how intolerant I am about American lamb.   I prefer to pay a premium for imported, frozen New Zealand lamb than to allow any of the American, factory produced, tasteless meat called lamb disgrace my table.  I have never eaten any U.S. lamb that I have more than just chewed and swallowed. Until today.

Quails R Us, an organic farm about 10 miles from Honesdale, has educated me and changed my mind about American lamb.  What did I learn?  Buy your lamb from a farm with a farmer on it who has personal knowledge of the animal you are about to eat.  Yes, I know that other bloggers have told me this but I didn’t need to search for good tasting, reliable meat in France and, until now, didn’t have access to or know how to find “normal” farms.

Like many of the regional, local farms, Quails R Us takes their meats to Larry’s Custom Meats in Hartwick, New York for slaughter, butchering and packaging.  The downside of this is that ole Larry butchers and cuts the meat the way he prefers to butcher and cut the meat.  Apparently, he likes to package his racks without the long, elegant chop bone which the lack of makes these packaged racks look like ribs until you open them.  Thanks Larry.

With low expectations, I decided to roast the racks with a fresh herb rub, seeing as how I had a lot of parsley, some rosemary and thyme.  Fresh herbs are such a compliment to the flavor of good tasting, succulent lamb, and this was good tasting lamb!  Eureka!  Thank you Quails R Us :)

I bought some fresh angel hair pasta at Wegmans and a Mexican tomato from Super Duper.  Here in the U.S. we laugh in the face of salmonella and slave labor.  Ha, Ha, Ha.

A plate of pasta that includes heavy garlic, basil and olive oil is a satisfying stand alone meal for vegetarians and carnivores alike.  Delicious.

But it’s not a law or anything :D

Herb Crusted Lamb Rib Rack

1 large rosemary sprig, leaves removed and finely chopped

5 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and finely chopped

1 large handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

2 lamb rib racks

Mix the herbs together with the garlic, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Take one tablespoon of the mixture and place in a separate bowl with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, then set this aside for basting.

Rub the lamb racks with the large amount of herb mixture, then place in a roasting pan, on a rack, cover with aluminum foil and roast at 325 F for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove the aluminum foil, increase the oven temperature to 425 F, continue to roast for another 30 minutes, basting occasionally with the reserved olive oil.

Angel Hair Pasta with Basil

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, coarsely diced

1 red bell pepper, coarsely diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 cup red wine

1 package cooked angel hair pasta

1/4 cup basil, cut into strips (chiffonade)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the onion and red bell pepper until the onion is just translucent.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes stirring. Pour in the wine and boil for 2 minutes.

Toss the sauce with the pasta, basil, parmesan, salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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