Lamb loin with dried mushroom crust

This is one of my go-to dishes for a dinner party when I don’t have a lot of time.

serves: 4 difficulty: easy prep time: 30 min

Ingredients

1 rack of lamb – 8 ribs (need 2 ribs per person)
1 pint dried mushrooms. You can use any kind of dried mushrooms – shiitake, morels, chanterelles, porcini – or a medley.
1 egg, beaten
2 tbs canola or vegetable oil

Preparation

First, prepare the dried mushrooms for the crush. You need to turn the dried mushrooms into a powder. You can use a spice grinder, if you have one, or a food processor. I use a coffee grinder. Depending on the size of the grinder you use you may have to work in batches.

Next you need to butcher the lamb loin. You need a large and sharp knife. Hold the rack of lamb with the ribs pointing up and the loin (i.e. the meaty part) away from you. Using the knife, start carefully slicing the loin away from the rib bones. Keep the knife as close to the bones as possible.

Once you have cut off the loin, you need to remove the excess fat from the loin. Usually you can simply tear it off even without a knife, but if you need to, you can use the knife. Season the lamb loin with 1/2 tbs sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the egg in a bowl. Lay out a sheet of aluminum foil on your work surface and spread the dried mushroom powder evenly on the sheet with the same width as the length of the lamb loin.

Place the lamb loin in the beaten egg, and roll it around so that it is well coated with egg. The egg is the “glue” to cover the loin with the dried mushroom powder.

Roll the lamb loin in the dried mushroom powder until it is well coated.

Heat the oil in a fry pan. Place the lamb in the pan, and fry until the crust is golden. Roll the lamb loin until the crust s fried on all sides. Cover with a lid and finish in the oven for 5 min for medium rare.