Lamb Persillade & French String Bean Salad

I love lamb. And I've cooked it in almost every form (chops, roasts, kofta...) EXCEPT rack of lamb. I've had this fear, you see, because I always remember the very elaborate crown roast my parents made once for a dinner party long ago. At any rate, now that the school year is over, I decided it was time to get over that.

So, as usual, if I want a recipe I'm almost guaranteed to like, I turn to Ina Garten. Here's Ina's Lamb Persillade recipe (also found in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook).

It truly was easy. I undercooked it a bit much (I like med rare), but the leftovers were fantastic, broiled in the toaster oven. Just cut how many you want to eat for lunch and broil them (if your original rack was rare...otherwise, I'd just heat them).

I served it with two other Ina Garten recipes: Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper (which may be my all-time favorite easy pasta recipe because it goes with so many other dishes) and her French String Bean Salad (How Easy is That? P. 109), which does not appear to be available online. So I reproduce it without proportions here, because basically all you need to know is that the secret ingredient is fresh dill. :)

French String Bean Salad (from Ina Garten)

Ingredients:

kosher salt
French string beans (haricots verts), both ends trimmed
Dijon mustard
white wine vinegar (I used and recommend champagne vinegar)
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
minced fresh dill

Blanch the beans, dress, and refrigerate, add dill just before serving.
It was delicious and the dressing is versatile enough to use for a regular green salad as well.

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THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

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