- 1 tablespoon pure olive oil
- 1 trimmed saddle of lamb, about 3 pounds, cut into 4 equal pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup thinly sliced onion
- ½ cup thinly sliced carrot
- 3 tablespoons thinly sliced wild mushroom stems or 6 medium domestic mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 parsley stems
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 6 cups lamb stock
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups Ratatouille
- 3 cups lamb sauce (recipe above)
- 4 tablespoons Basil Oil
- For the lamb sauce:
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the onion, carrot, mushroom stems, and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes, or until barely tender. Add the herbs, peppercorns, and lamb stock, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by about half. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Remove the bay leaf.
- For the lamb:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over high heat until just smoking sear the lamb on all sides. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast, meaty-side up, 5 minutes for rare, 6 to 7 minutes for medium, or 8 minutes for well done. Allow to rest 5 minutes before carving.
- To serve:
- Mound the ratatouille in the center of 4 serving plates. Slice the lamb thin and fan it over the ratatouille. Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of sauce around the lamb and drizzle about 1 tablespoon of basil oil around that.
- Variations:
- For lamb sauce, substitute Roasted Garlic-Black Olive Oil combined with a little basil or rosemary oil.
- For basil oil, substitute Rosemary Oil.
- For an elegant presentation, mold the ratatouille in a 5-inch ring and arrange the sliced lamb on top.