Today was the first day of this year’s Salt Lake City Farmer’s Market (yay!!!). I celebrated by getting up early, making it out to the market by 8am and getting some tasty, local-grown food. My goal was to create a nice meal for myself as well as photograph it, which I think might end up being a regular weekend thing.
On the menu tonight was lavender crusted rack of lamb. I’ve never cooked with lavender before, mostly because it’s difficult to find. I happened to find a vendor at the market that sold culinary lavender and bought a packet, and used it with some local grass-fed lamb I had just purchased. And, by the way, lavender cooking in a kitchen is one of the most divine smells ever. I’m gonna start finding more recipes to work lavender in to.
Here’s my “recipe” for the lamp … I kinda just whipped it up, so I don’t have precise measurements:
Lavender Crusted Rack of Lamb
- Rack of lamb (mine was about 1.3 lbs)
- 1 tbsp lavender (plus some for garnish)
- Olive Oil
- Chopped green garlic (they look like green onions, I used about a hand-full)
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 cup red wine (I used shiraz)
Preheat oven to 400° F. Prepare lamb, and in a small bowl add some olive oil, lavender and salt and pepper. Mix, and rub over lamb. Heat oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, then lamb, and brown the sides quickly. Then, place in oven. I cooked mine for about 15-20 mins, and ended up with a medium to medium-rare cooked meat. When it’s done cooking, set lamb on a cutting board to rest for five or so minutes. Then, with the remaining bits still in the pan, add the wine and deglaze until it’s to a thicker sauce-like consistency. Cut lamb, drizzle sauce over, garnish with lavender and enjoy.
Today was the first day of this year’s Salt Lake City Farmer’s Market (yay!!!). I celebrated by getting up early, making it out to the market by 8am and getting some tasty, local-grown food. My goal was to create a nice meal for myself as well as photograph it, which I think might end up being a regular weekend thing.
On the menu tonight was lavender crusted rack of lamb. I’ve never cooked with lavender before, mostly because it’s difficult to find. I happened to find a vendor at the market that sold culinary lavender and bought a packet, and used it with some local grass-fed lamb I had just purchased. And, by the way, lavender cooking in a kitchen is one of the most divine smells ever. I’m gonna start finding more recipes to work lavender in to.
Here’s my “recipe” for the lamp … I kinda just whipped it up, so I don’t have precise measurements:
Lavender Crusted Rack of Lamb
- Rack of lamb (mine was about 1.3 lbs)
- 1 tbsp lavender (plus some for garnish)
- Olive Oil
- Chopped green garlic (they look like green onions, I used about a hand-full)
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 cup red wine (I used shiraz)
Preheat oven to 400° F. Prepare lamb, and in a small bowl add some olive oil, lavender and salt and pepper. Mix, and rub over lamb. Heat oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, then lamb, and brown the sides quickly. Then, place in oven. I cooked mine for about 15-20 mins, and ended up with a medium to medium-rare cooked meat. When it’s done cooking, set lamb on a cutting board to rest for five or so minutes. Then, with the remaining bits still in the pan, add the wine and deglaze until it’s to a thicker sauce-like consistency. Cut lamb, drizzle sauce over, garnish with lavender and enjoy.
Nicole is a photographer, published author, and educator specializing in Lightroom, Photoshop, and photography. She is best known for her books on food photography but is widely versed in various photographic genres, including landscape, nature, stock, travel, and experimental imagery.
The garlic greens are refered to as garlic scapes
Thanks! I didn’t know that :)
Hello Nicole! I’ve enjoyed reading your blog but this is my first comment.
Great job on the photo; the composition is simple and looks natural but very interesting. I especially like the vibrant green and orange of the veggies. Was this shot with natural/available light or studio lights?
Thanks Natasha! It was natural light, very similar to this setup: https://nicolesy.com/2011/05/30/banana-bread-with-cherries-and-hazelnuts/
FYI Utah has one of the largest lavender farms in the world. It is about 1 1/2 hours south of SLC in Mona (just north of Nephi on I-15). Sometime in July they have a harvest festival where you can go and pick your own. It is quite a sight to see the fields of “ripe” lavender.
Young Living Farms
I have never cooked with lavender but it sounds fabulous! And I can’t wait to make it to the downtown Farmers Market. So much fun!
It looks delicious Nicole!
So- another amazing food shot- you realize you will have ANOTHER career as a chef if you keep this up?
This looks amazing! We’d love for you to share this over at dishfolio.com!
This sounds lovely. I’ve tried cooking with lavender a few times and find if you’re not careful your food tastes like perfume, but it sounds like you have the perfect amount here.
That sounds and looks delicious. Very nice styling! I’ve never cooked with green garlic; does it taste different than white garlic?
Thanks Nicole! The texture of the garlic is different, it has more of the consistency that green onions have. But it smells similar. I don’t think it’s as potent, too.
Awesome recipe. Absolutely love it :)
Here’s another recipe you might like.
http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/rack-of-lamb-with-rosemary-and-mustard-crust-with-garlic-roasted-potatoes/
Thanks for sharing.
Gem