Guard of Honor Lamb

I received a fabulous cook book for Christmas: 

Downton Abbey being shown currently in the US (Yes, I am watching the episodes again.  And Yes, I have already seen all the episodes, since I streamed it from England.  Remember the cornish pasties? or  the crumpets?), therefore it is appropriate to celebrate the return of the Crawleys with a recipe from Mrs. Patmore's kitchen. 

"Guard of Honor Lamb" is a regal dish and this recipe calls for two racks of lamb; I used just one.  When you have two, you can criss-cross the chops to look like crossed swords.  While the recipe calls for mint sauce, both Will and I don't like it so I didn't make it. 

 

First, I put minced garlic and shallots in olive oil in a heavy skillet, adding in rosemary and thyme as well as balsamic vinegar and Worchestershire sauce.  Once browned, I set aside to cool.

Next, I seared the lamb rack in the same skillet.  A bit tricky to get the sides and the underside seared.  To be honest, I probably didn't cook it long enough on every side as I had to add cook time when the rack went into the oven. 

With the browned garlic and spices, I added bread crumbs.  I slathered the rack of lamb with course Dijon mustard and then coated the sides with the bread crumb mixture. 

The rack of lamb went into my 450º preheated oven to roast for 18 minutes. 

Out came a beautiful encrusted rack of lamb fit to serve Her Majesty's soldiers.  I served it with with leeks and Brussels sprouts.  Delicious!