1472. RACK OF LAMB with FENNEL, SAUSAGE, BACON and THYME FLOWERS

for four servings


800 grams (1 lb. 12 oz.) rack of lamb
50 grams (2 oz.) garlic dry sausage, thinly sliced
50 grams (2 oz.) small bacon bits
4 bulbs of fennel
1/2 sweet onion
3 tablespoons mild flavorful olive oil
1 sprig of thyme
a small pinch of thyme flowers
a small pinch of ground cumin, salt and pepper

Quarter the fennel bulbs, remove the cores and slice the leaves thinly. Cook in 1 liter (4 cups) of boiling salted (20 g / 4 tsp.) water for 6 minutes; drain, refresh in ice water and drain again.

Cut the sausage into thin strips.

Place the rack of lamb, seasoned with salt and pepper, in a baking dish with 1 tbsp. olive oil, a crushed clove of garlic (unpeeled), and two sprigs of thyme.

Roast for 12 minutes in a hot oven (200°C / 400°F).

Remove from the oven; let the meat rest on a rack covered with a sheet of aluminum foil.

In a saucepan, sweat the minced onion with the bacon in 2 tbsp. hot olive oil. When the onion is lightly colored, add the sausage, then the fennel, thyme flowers and cumin. Cook gently for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, reheat the lamb for 5 minutes in a hot oven. Serve hot, accompanied by the vegetables.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Jacques Chibois, Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux, La Bastide Saint-Antoine, 48, avenue Henri Dunant, 06130 Grasse, Côte-d'Azur, France