Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary Recipe, Spotlight on Lamb, Healthy Eating Debunked and The Stairs Count

Having traveled around the world and sampled some of the most amazing grass-fed lamb dishes, from grilled chops to tandoori roasts to casseroles, I’m always shocked by the statistic that Americans barely eat one pound of lamb a year. It could be that a massive leg of lamb seems intimidating at first or that, as a pricey cut of meat, it isn’t a food many of us grew up with. If you’re new to this “other” red meat, there’s no simpler or more delicious introduction than a rack of lamb. My recipe will serve two for an elegant New Year’s Eve dinner or any other special occasion. For an even more festive presentation perfect for four people, ask the butcher to tie two racks together to form a crown roast, and just double the ingredients in the marinade (it should cook in about the same time).

Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

• Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

  There’s no better way to enhance any cut of lamb than with a coating of garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and lemon juice, but feel free to adjust the garlic and rosemary up or down depending on your taste preference. Creamy polenta or whipped mashed potatoes are a perfect accompaniment along with roasted Brussels sprouts or glazed carrots.

  Ingredients

  • 1 rack of lamb with 8 ribs, frenched (see “Healthy Ingredient Spotlight” below)
  • 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary needles, plus extra sprigs for garnish 
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
  • Coarse sea salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper 

  Directions

  Step 1

  Place the rack of lamb bone side down on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Add the garlic, olive oil, rosemary, and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar to the bowl of a small food processor and pulse until the garlic is finely chopped. Coat the lamb on all sides with the mixture, and season generously with salt and pepper. Allow the lamb to stand at room temperature for one hour. 

  Step 2

  Put an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 450°F. Roast the lamb for 20 to 25 minutes for medium-rare or until the internal temperature on an instant-read meat thermometer registers 125°F. (Roast the lamb 5-10 minutes longer if you prefer it less pink.) After removing it from the oven, loosely tent the lamb with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. To serve, slice the rack into individual chops and divide them between two dinner plates, fanning them in a semicircle. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired. 

  Yields 2 servings.

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

The Other Red Meat: Lamb

It’s time to sing the praises of lamb, a red meat that, depending on the cut, can have less fat than beef. Also, grass-fed lamb in particular tends to have less fat than grain-fed lamb, as well as fewer calories. Read labels to know for sure how the lamb was raised—New Zealand lamb, as well as most lamb raised in Colorado and some parts of the Midwest, is primarily if not completely grass-fed. (Surprisingly, imported lamb is often less expensive than US-grown.)

In addition to being a great protein source, with about 20 grams in three ounces, lamb has important vitamins and minerals—B12, iron, potassium, and zinc. As with most red meats, you want to remove as much of the visible white fat as possible before cooking to limit your saturated fat intake. “Frenching” a rack of lamb—prepping it in the French way—involves removing the meat, fat, and membranes from between each of the ribs. This not only creates a sophisticated presentation, but also pares down a lot of the fat that can be tempting to eat but just isn’t good for you. Many racks of lamb are often sold frenched or can be prepped by the butcher in the meat department of your favorite food store (you may need to request this cut in advance). One reason rack of lamb is more expensive is the work involved, but you’re also getting almost pure meat. If you want to exercise your knife skills, you can try the frenching technique at home. For a great step-by-step, check out the directions from Work Sharp Sharpeners.

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Oven-Roasting Meat Right

Oven-roasting is a great way to bring out the flavor of meat, and roasting whole cuts of meat (as well as whole chicken, turkey, and duck) on a well-oiled rack in a roasting pan allows any hidden fat to drip away as the meat cooks.

If you want to create a bit of a crust on the edges of a roast, press chopped herbs, ground seeds, or even chopped nuts mixed with a little extra virgin olive oil rather than breadcrumbs on all the exposed sides. Just as garlic and rosemary are ideal for any cut of lamb, crushed black peppercorns are great for beef. Using a dry rub of herbs and spices is another delicious way to prep the surface of a roast, especially a pork roast, for the oven.

For Your Best Health

Healthy Eating Debunked

Ever wonder if healthy eating is really all it’s cracked up to be? If these moments of questioning tend to happen as you pass your favorite bakery or get a hankering for a gooey meatball parm, strengthen your resolve with the latest report on the benefits of high-quality diets from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Researchers reviewed numerous studies based on the health outcomes of three diets—DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), the Healthy Eating Index, and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index or AHEI, all of which call for eating lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy plant-based fats and a low intake of solid fats, added sugar, and sodium. Findings show that the better the diet quality, the lower the risk of all-cause mortality; coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure; cancer, including prostate and colon cancer; type 2 diabetes; neurodegenerative diseases; and among cancer survivors, all-cause mortality and cancer mortality—mega rewards indeed for healthy-eating efforts. Note that separate studies have found that the AHEI approach, while not as well known as some other healthy eating plans, may convey the most benefits of the three.

Fitness Flash

The Stairs Count

Want a snapshot of your heart health? Being able to climb four flights of stairs in less than a minute—at a fast pace without stopping, but also without running—is a simple and inexpensive cardio wellness indicator, according to research presented at a recent scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology. “The stairs test is an easy way to check your heart health,” said study author Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist at University Hospital A Coruña in Spain. “If it takes you more than one and a half minutes to ascend four flights of stairs, your health is suboptimal, and it would be a good idea to consult a doctor.” Telling your doctor how you did on this test will help him or her decide whether more formal tests would be appropriate for you.

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Dried Apricot and Cranberry Pilaf Recipe, Spotlight on Dried Fruits and Homemade Stock and Learn How Olive Oil Supports Heart Health

Do you feel a chill in the air yet? ’Tis the season after all! As we move into the most challenging holiday period in recent history, a great way to warm up and feel soothed is to enjoy healthier comfort foods. As public health experts are pointing out, we need to take steps to boost our immune systems by eating foods high in nutrients and by getting enough exercise, the latter being a challenge if you’re a gym rat and your health club is off-limits or you just want to stay safe by avoiding crowded indoor spaces. But there are work-arounds that make staying healthy more fun. Let me share all the details with you, starting with a sweet side dish.

Dried Apricot and Cranberry Pilaf

• Dried Apricot and Cranberry Pilaf

  Rice is the perfect vehicle for a wide range of flavors, both sweet and savory. I’m a fan of the subtle aroma of jasmine rice, but any long grain will work. Dried apricots and cranberries are evocative of the season and give this pilaf a sweet-tart taste, but feel free to use whatever dried fruits you like, instead of or even in addition to. When sprinkled on the finished dish, the fresh orange zest gives it a wonderful perfume. I love to use a Microplane grater because it makes such a fine zest, and it’s so easy to move over the entire surface of the peel to get all the goodness.

  Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
  • 2-1/4 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped fine
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped fine
  • 3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon or more orange zest 
  • Pinch of cinnamon, optional

  Directions

  In a covered saucepan over medium-low heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the rice, stirring to coat it in the oil. (This helps keep the grains distinct in the finished dish.) Stir in the broth and increase the heat to medium. Bring to a low boil, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in the apricots and cranberries and remove the pan from the heat. Put the cover back on, wait another 5 minutes, and then fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the almonds, parsley, and freshly ground pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and grate the orange zest right over the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

  Yields 4 servings.

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Enhance Dishes with Dried Fruits

Dried fruits, such as apricots, cranberries, raisins, and prunes, are great for recipes like pilaf because they add flavor without unwanted moisture. They also make great fiber- and nutrient-rich snacks, especially when mixed with heart-healthy nuts like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios. But remember that both dried fruits and nuts are very calorie dense, so measure out one-ounce portions rather than munching straight from a bag, suggests Harvard Health. When shopping, read labels to avoid brands with added sugars—with the exception of cranberries, they should be sweet enough on their own. For cranberries, look for brands sweetened with apple juice. You might also want to choose those made from organically grown fruits and avoid those with colorings, additives, and, especially if you have asthma, sulphite-based preservatives like sulphur dioxide. Opaque packaging that blocks out light will help maintain freshness and taste. Note that while fiber is more concentrated when a fruit is dried, vitamins A and C are often lost in the processing, so dried foods shouldn’t replace all the fresh fruit in your diet, especially not berries.

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Homemade Stock

Many home chefs know the value of devoting a few hours every month or so to making a large batch of chicken stock and storing it in containers in the freezer. Stock adds far more flavor than water in recipes that require a cooking liquid. But you can also make a small batch on the fly whenever you buy (or make) a rotisserie chicken or two for dinner. Here’s my hack: After enjoying all the meat, place the chicken carcass in a crockpot with a stalk of celery, a carrot or two, a sliced onion, a garlic clove, a teaspoon of mixed dried herbs, and, if you have one, a leek. Add water to cover, turn it on and, in no time, you’ll have a really nice stock. Strain it and, if you want it to be even more flavorful, reduce it in a saucepan on the stovetop.

For Your Best Health

Olive Oil Supports Heart Health

Important research done at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, has advanced our knowledge of just how olive oil helps support heart health. Scientists discovered that levels of an important plasma protein, ApoA-IV, increase as the body digests foods high in unsaturated fats, like olive oil. ApoA-IV specifically blocks a receptor on blood platelets that they need in order to clump together. Sometimes this clumping—called aggregation—is useful; however, when it results in a blood clot and blocks blood flow, it can be fatal. 

“Platelet aggregation can save lives because it can stop bleeding in damaged vessels,” explained Dr. Heyu Ni, Platform Director for Hematology, Cancer and Immunological Diseases at the KRCBS. “But we usually don’t want platelets to block blood flow in the vessels. This is thrombosis, and if vessel occlusion occurs in the heart or brain, it can cause heart attack, stroke, or death.” The research showed that higher levels of ApoA-IV can also slow down the plaque buildup in blood vessels (atherosclerosis) that stiffens their walls and also sets the stage for heart attack or stroke.

The study, published in Nature Communications, also revealed that ApoA-IV has its own circadian rhythm, and it’s most active overnight. So, according to Dr. Ni, eating foods with high unsaturated fats and following an appropriate sleep pattern together help strengthen ApoA-IV’s role in cutting the risk for atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke.

Fitness Flash

Persevering Over Your Inner Couch Potato

It’s hard to resist COVID-19’s ability to bring out the couch potato in all of us, but an expert panel from the American Public Health Association, writing in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal, reminds us of just how important staying physically active is, precisely because of the pandemic. It’s essential to good health, especially for people with preexisting and chronic health conditions who face a disproportionate risk from the virus. Here are some of their ideas:

For cardio exercise, walk outside, staying at least six feet away from others and wearing a mask. Layer on more clothes as the weather cools—you can peel them off as you heat up. When you can’t get out, try marching in place or stepping up and down off the first riser of a staircase. Doing five-minute chunks a few times a day is a good start.

For strength training, use your own body weight to turn household tasks into exercises. Do heel raises at the sink when washing dishes, and rear leg lifts as you bend to empty the dishwasher. After a grocery run, do a set of biceps curls with large soup cans before you put them away. 

For a combo approach, between episodes of a show you’re streaming or during broadcast commercials, get in some circuit training. Take a run or brisk walk around the house, then do eight chair sit-stands, walk up and down a flight of stairs, and finish with eight wall pushups.

If you need outside motivation, find out whether your gym is offering live-streamed classes, or dip into a YouTube channel workout. 

Whenever you’re at home, think of ways to spend less time sitting and more time moving. Remember that exercise is free medicine and works body and mind, helping us cope with the stress of the pandemic and anxiety over when it will finally be in the rearview mirror.

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