NuM NuM

OH....MY....GASHEE...this was SOOOO GOOOOOD!!! It was truly restaurant quality. So good it made me want to do the happy dance. Valentine's Day is coming up and I would HIGHLY suggest making this for your honey. The only disclaimer is that it takes quite a bit of time to make. BUT, they'll love you so much more for the fact since you were slaving away in the kitchen. THEN, right when they're enjoying your nummy meal, that's when you sucker them into washing the pile of dishes in the kitchen for you ^_^

Anyway the meal itself is pretty easy to put together, it just takes a while to make the POM reduction but it's well worth it. (However that could be due to my skills since I'm still a little slow in the kitchen) The reduction has an intense sweet/meaty flavor which gives a nice contrast to the spicy moroccan spices...it's the perfect combination. Oooh, and the cauliflower puree is INSANE. It literally tastes like mashed potatoes. If you're watching your diet, this is a PERFECT dish to make and I will definetely be making it more often from now on. This is another dish I could've tricked lobster with but he helped me and cut the cauliflower so it was too late by then...but seriously it is GOOOOOOD!!! You must try it. Happy eating!!

**The only difficult thing about this recipe is that you have to throw out the meat after you make the reduction which seems like a waste but it's worth it b/c it gives a deep flavor to the sauce. Also since stew meat is a cheap cut of meat it's not so bad.

Moroccan Rack of Lamb with POM Reduction and Cauliflower Puree
Adapted from this website

Serves 4 (2 lamb chops each)
INGREDIENTS:

POM sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1.5 pounds of stew meat
• .5 pound onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups POM
• 1.5 cups low-salt chicken broth
• .5 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Lamb:
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 rack of lamb, frenched
• 1 carrot, peeled & cut into diagonal pieces
• 20 pearl onions, blanched in boiling water 1 min, peeled

Cauliflower Puree
• 1 head cauliflower
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 grated Parmesan
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup Reduced Fat Sour Cream
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Lamb & Sauce
For sauce:
1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add lamb and sauté until deep brown, turning occasionally, about 18 minutes. Transfer lamb to a bowl & set aside.
3. Add onions, carrot, garlic, to pot. Sauté until vegetables are lightly browned, 8-10 min.
4. Add POM, broth & lamb to pot with veggies.
5. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 1 1/2 hours.
6. Strain sauce into large bowl. Spoon off any fat from surface of stock; return stock to same large pot. Simmer another 15 minutes.
7. Mix butter and flour in small bowl and then whisk into sauce. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened another minute or two. Season with salt and pepper.

**Rose says if you don't want to deal with sauteeing the meat for that long you can make the reduction in the same sauce you use to brown the lamb chops. Just add 1 Tbsp oil, add vegetables and saute until softened and then deglaze with POM (turn heat to med-hi) add 1/2 of POM and scrape up any browned bits into sauce. Then add rest of POM, chicken broth, seasoning and reduce by half (simmer on medium)

For lamb:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F Mix all spices in a bowl to blend.
2. Rub rack of lamb with olive oil to coat.
3. Coat lamb with ras el hanout (spice) blend and apply liberally.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add rack to skillet, spiced side down.
5. Sauté until browned, about 4 minutes.
6. Turn rack over and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes.
7. Place rack, spiced side up, on rimmed baking sheet covered with baking foil.
8. Toss carrots & pearl onions with olive oil, salt & pepper and arrange around rack of lamb.
9. Roast lamb for 25 minutes. (I roasted until it reached an internal temperature of 125F-which was a perfect medium after it rested for 15 minutes)
10. Remove from oven, tent with foil and rest for 15 minutes.
11. Cut lamb between bones into chops.

Cauliflower Puree
1. Pull the leaves off the cauliflower and core.
2. Pull the florets off the head . Cut the florets into smaller, regular pieces.
3. Steam caulfilower until tender about 15 minutes.
4. Process the cauliflower in 3 batches in your food processor with 1/3 of the cauliflower, a touch of steaming water, 1 Tsbpsour cream, salt, pepper, & 1 Tbsp butter.
5. Add more liquid only as necessary. You want to add as little liquid as possible so that it's not runny.
6. Serve on plate, top with lamb chops, drizzle with sauce & surround with carrots & onions.

**For 2 servings, I steamed half a head of cauliflower then blended it in the food processor w/o any liquid, and seasoned to taste. I added about a tablespoon and a half of "I can't believe it's not butter" 1to 2 tablespoons of low fat sour cream and S&P.