Wednesday Quickie – Chicken Noodle Soup with Fennel & Scallions

by

Dear Josie’s,

I love your delicious Chicken Noodle soup when I don’t feel right, the fennel and scallions you have really brings it home. But why does it have to cost me $1,000 / oz?! I don’t feel the love!

So, I figured out the next best thing – a quickie version of your soup. Hope you don’t mind.

xoxo,

Branching Owl

Quick & Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Quick & Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Who wants to be chopping up stuff with a runny nose?! To save even more time, buy pre-chopped organic vegetables – Whole Foods NYC has some in their Produce section.

Ingredients (4 Servings)

- 3 Stalks Celery Chopped

- 2 Carrots Sliced (or Chopped if carrots are large)

- 1 Onion Chopped

- 1 Fennel – White Part Only, Sliced in Thin Wedges

- 1 lbs Chicken Breast Tenderloin cubed

- 1 32 oz box of Organic Chicken Stock

- 4 Stalks Scallions – Green and White Parts, Sliced

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- Macaroni Noodles

Directions

- In a large stock pot, bring chicken stock to a boil on med to high heat.

- Throw in sliced fennel, celery, carrots, & onions in boiling stock. Lower to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

- Once vegetables are tender, place cubed chicken tenderloin in soup stock. Continue to cook for about 30 minutes or so until chicken is cooked through but not overdone. Stir occasionally.

- While the soup is cooking, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and cook your noodles until al dente – about 8 minutes

- Few minutes before serving, stir in the sliced scallions and macaroni. Salt and pepper to taste. Voila!

Storage

- I would store soup and macaroni separately (toss macaroni in some olive oil to prevent clumping)

Wednesday Quickie: Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Fuji Apples & Pistachios

by

I fell in love with this dish when I had it at Alta a few years ago.  I’ve made close replicas of this overtime, but came up with this quickie for when I’m in a pinch.  The adapted recipe has its own wonderful flavor profile that makes it a tad lighter and refreshing for the warmer weather.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Fuji Apples and Pistachios

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Fuji Apples and Pistachios

I think this is a perfect vegetable side for any main course – with the lemon adding a nice sparkle and a tad of sweetness from the honey to bring out other flavors. We had it with a simple grilled Halibut the other night and I’ve also served it with Pork Chops before. For my friends who are in love with bacon, I’m sure this would taste amazing with some chopped, pan fried bacon bits too!

Ingredients (4 Side Servings)

- 10 oz Brussel Sprouts: Trim stem and cut into halves

- ½ Fuji Apple: Thinly sliced, julienne or cut into bite size

- ½ Cup Roasted / Shelled Pistachios: Roughly chopped.  (Bake at 300F for 5 minutes if you can’t find roasted)

- Drizzle of Honey to taste; Splash of Lemon Juice to taste (or ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest)

- Dollop of Sour Cream for Garnish

- Salt / Pepper to taste; Olive oil to toss sprouts

Directions

- Pre-heat oven to 400F; Toss halved brussel sprouts with some olive oil, salt and paper

- Bake brussel sprouts for approximately 12 – 15 minutes, until sprouts are tender and have a nice golden crisp

- Once sprouts are ready, toss with sliced apples and chopped pistachios in a large mixing bowl

- Drizzle the mixture with some honey and a splash of lemon juice to taste

- Garnish each portion with a dollop of sour cream

Storage / Leftovers

If you would like to re-heat the brussel sprouts the next day for leftovers, I suggest tossing / storing the apples separately as you don’t want the apples to wilt during the re-heating process.  If all is tossed already, eating leftovers at room temperature is still quite tasty!

The FroYo-volution!

by

Hey friend, do you love Froyo but you don’t love all the gunk these popular chains put in their ”frozen yogurt”? Maybe you just want a giant thing of Froyo for yourself but refuse to overpay for it. Well I am you!

After failing to find a readily available, organic, plain frozen yogurt treat on the marketplace, I set out on my personal odyssey to find the best home-made recipe out there. Below, you’ll find a eat-right-out-of-the-ice-cream-maker good Fro-yo recipe.

Homemade Frozen Yogurt

Homemade Frozen Yogurt

I have experimented with using natural sweeteners + all sorts of yogurts:  full fat, non fat, regular, Greek, you name it.  While the taste was genuinely yogurt-ish, it wasn’t tangy enough and the consistency was sometimes icy or hard to keep.

The secret ingredients to this simple formula I think, are 1. Full Fat Yogurt 2. Sour Cream 3. Lemon Juice.  Adapted from Just One Cookbook the combination of these ingredients makes for a decadent, tangy, slightly icy but creamy treat!

Recipe (Yields about 2 Quarts)

- 4  cups Organic Full Fat Plain Yogurt

- 1 cup Organic Cane Sugar (adjust according to taste, can also be other natural sweeteners)

- 2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice (more or less depending on the amount of tang you enjoy)

- 1/4 tsp. Salt

- 1/2 cup Sour Cream (less if you like it icy)

Directions

- In a large bowl, mix in all ingredients until well combined

- Strain mixture through a sieve for a smoother Froyo (you can skip this step for plain frozen yogurt)

- Process mixture in ice-cream maker (this is the one I use) until frozen, about 30 – 35 minutes

- Store in air-tight container and freeze for several hours for a firmer consistency  (or just eat it right out of the maker, no judgement)

I have also made fruit based Froyo using the Just One Cookbook recipe with much success – more on that on my next post! ENJOY & FROYO TO THE PEOPLE!

Spring has (almost) Sprung – Tahini Noodles with Chicken & Cucumber

by

Mother nature finally blessed us with a warm day in NYC – yippee! While I am not going to fall into another “sunny day trap” (and dry clean my coats for the season), I will however, cook to celebrate this ephemeral yet exciting occasion because I miss the summer oh so much.

Tahini Noodles with Chicken and Cucumber

Tahini Noodles with Chicken and Cucumber

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tahini, it’s really just a fancy name for grounded sesame paste. This fragrant condiment is common in Middle Eastern dishes (like hummus), but I’ve added a little soy sauce twist to this and created a nice Asian noodle meal.  Served at room temperature, this extremely versatile dish is perfect for cooling down in warm weather.  You can find tahini at your local ethnic food store, Whole Foods, or Amazon!

Recipe (4 Servings)

- 1 lbs Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast

- 4 Bunches of Dry Round Udon Noodles (or Spaghetti)

- 2 Cucumbers cut into 2 inch strips

- 8 Tbsp Tahini

- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (adjust according to your taste)

- 4 Tbsp Water

- Sesame with Sea Salt as desired

Directions

- Fill medium sauce pan with enough room temperature water to cover the chicken breast, you may salt the water if you’d like.  Place chicken breast in sauce pan with room temperature water on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, allowing the water to come to a nice simmer (but not boiling).

- While the chicken is cooking, mix tahini, soy sauce, and water together in a large mixing bowl (enough to contain your noodles and ingredients for tossing later on), to create a nice and creamy sauce. Chop up the cucumbers if you haven’t done so already.

- Check the chicken and make sure it’s cooked through in the center, remove from sauce pan, and rinse under cold water.  ’Tear’ the warm chicken breast into strips.

- In a small sauce pan, place water on boil and cook the noodles according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Rinse noodles under cold water once it’s cooked through and strain.

- Place chicken & cucumber strips and noodles into the large mixing bowl with sauce and toss well. Serve immediately and sprinkle your noodles with some sesame with sea salt for garnish!

Variations and Storage

- For a vegetarian version of this, you can substitute the chicken with strips of extra firm tofu. I would mix in just a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil to give it extra flava!

- If you made too much chicken and cut up extra cucumber, I would recommend storing them in separate containers. Otherwise, your cucumbers will get soggy! And don’t mix in the noodles with sauce either, I would cook up the noodles when you’re ready to serve the leftovers.

Chinese New Year Dinner – Turnip Cake!

by

Happy New Lunar Year of the Snake!  This is a special new year for Branching Owl, and it’s not because Owls feast on snakes, but because Mommy Owl & Brother Owl are all visiting me in NYC for our traditional new year dinner!

This dinner party menu will be split into several posts as some of the recipes may be quite complex.  That said, practice makes perfect so don’t be discouraged!!  I will post as many photos of ingredients as I can to help you shop at your local Asian supermarket.

Chinese New Year Decorations

Chinese New Year Decorations

Here’s the Menu:

Appetizer

- Turnip Cake

Main Course

- Whole Steamed Fish with Ginger and Scallion

- Chinese Wine Marinated Steamed Chicken

- Pork and Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant and Peppers

Dessert

- Sweet Dumplings with Peanut or Black Sesame Filling

- Purple Glutinous Rice and Barley Sweet Soup

First up on the recipe roster is home-made turnip cake. This savory cake is a family favorite and is a staple item for new year celebrations.  While this item can be found in most dim sum restaurants, I always prefer to make my own as I find store bought cake ingredients to be “watered down”.  As a note, I would reduce the dried ingredients by half if you’re not used to them as they can be quiet pungent (an acquired taste).  The batter is quite thick so this is going to be a great work out for your biceps!

Turnip Cake

Turnip Cake

Yield: 1 turnip cake (8 inch square Aluminum container), can serve as appetizer for 6 – 8 people

 Ingredients:

- 1 turnip: About 2 pounds

- Chinese Sausage: 1 – 2, diced

- Dried Chinese Mushrooms: 7 small ones, diced (Reconstitute dried Chinese mushrooms in water the night before, or hot water for at least an hour the day of cooking)

- Dried scallops: 3 – 4 (2/3 in batter, Reserve 1/3 as topping) (Reconstitute dried scallops in water the night before, or hot water for at least an hour the day of cooking); Tear into small pieces after reconstituted

- Dried shrimp: 1/3 cups, Roughly Chopped (2/3 in batter, Reserve 1/3 as topping) – Rinse dried shrimp before chopping up

- Scallions: 2 stalks with white parts, Chopped (2/3 in batter, Reserve 1/3 as topping)

- Rice flour: 1.5 cups

- Ginger: 3 – 4 Slices

- Chinese Rock Sugar: 2 – 3 cube sugar sized lumps

- White Pepper & Oyster Sauce: A Dash

- Aluminum container: 8 inch Square

Oyster Sauce & Rock Sugar

Oyster Sauce & Rock Sugar

Dried Sausage, Mushrooms, Shrimp, & Rice Flour

Dried Sausage, Mushrooms, Shrimp, & Rice Flour

 Directions:

- With a little heated olive oil in a pan, lightly fry up the diced Chinese sausage, reconstituted dried Mushrooms, dried shrimp and dried scallop (remember to reserve 1/3 for topping the batter!) for 2 – 3 minutes over medium heat.  Place in bowl and set aside.

- In a large bowl, grate the turnip. If you want better texture, grate 70%, the other 30% can be diced. Strain the turnip and save the juice in a separate bowl – my 2 pound turnip yielded just shy of 1 cup of juice.

- Mix rice flour with the turnip juice and make sure there are no lumps. The texture of the mix should be toothpaste like, if it’s too dry (or if your turnip didn’t yield a lot of juice), add water as needed (I added 1/8 cup of water for this batter)

- Again, in a slightly oiled pan, fry up 3-4 slices of ginger. Add turnip and cook until translucent, about 7 – 10 minutes on medium heat. Add 2 – 3 lumps of small Chinese rock sugar, dash of white pepper & oyster sauce, cook with turnip until sugar is melted. Discard ginger.

- Add the flour mixture into the cooked turnip and mix well.  Consistency would be like a thick batter, so add 1 – 2 cups of water if the batter is too dry. Then stir in Chinese sausage, mushroom, scallop, shrimp, and scallion mixture.

- Pour the batter into the aluminum container, top with the reserved topping, and steam for 1 hour. Store in fridge overnight.

To Serve

Option 1: Slice up the cake and pan fry with oyster sauce to dip.

Option 2: Steam and serve individual portions in bowls with some soy sauce and freshly chopped scallions

Option 3: Make the cakes into these super cute hearts for Valentine’s day with a twist!!!

Next up! Steamed Fish with Ginger and Scallions & Wine Marinated Chicken, stay tuned and Gung Xi Fa Cai!

Cure the Brrr! Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

by

Just like that, the cold front snapped NY back into the wintry reality!  Soup is the best remedy for this kind of weather, and since we are in the height of Soup Month(s) celebration (Soup Fans: “YAY!!!”), I have created another recipe for us to enjoy! The mushroom and wild rice soup.

Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

At first glance, the mix of herbs may seem excessive, but Herbs de Provence, I thought, complimented the amazing fragrance of wild rice and the citrusy notes of coriander balances out the earthy mushrooms very nicely. Try it!

Ingredients (Serves 4 – 6)

- 1/2 cup Wild Rice

- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced

- 1 Medium Sized Onion, Chopped

- 3 Stalks of Celery

- 3 Medium Carrots

- 16 oz Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms (2 8 oz containers)

- 8 Cups of Chicken or Vegetable Stock

- 1 Tsp Salt, 1/2 Tsp Pepper, 1/4 Tsp Coriander, 1/2 Herbs de Provence (to taste, adjust as necessary)

Directions

- Heat up 1 – 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot, add chopped onion and minced garlic. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

- Add carrots, celery, and mushrooms, stir with onions and garlic to coat with oil. About 2 – 3 minutes.

- Add chicken or vegetable stock to cover carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, and onions, and bring to boil. Cover and lower to low-medium heat, and let simmer for 30 – 40 minutes until carrots are relatively soft.

- Then, add wild rice and simmer for another 40 minutes or until everything is cook through and tender.

- Season with Salt, Pepper, Coriander, and Herbs de Provence.

Check out last week’s Broccoli and Potato soup for more vegetarian soup options! If you want something even heartier, you can get the Italian Sausage Tortellini soup recipe here.

Souper Winter Months – Broccoli and Potato Soup

by

In Midtown NYC where I work, healthy and delicious lunch options are available, but you really have to do your investigative work.  When I don’t have time to walk all the way to Westerly Natural Market, the best kept NY Soup secret, I go to Between the Bread. Their stuff is a bit pricey, but I’ve always been able to find dairy free and healthy food options.

Speaking of soup, did you know that January & February are official soup months?! Holy moly. In honor of that, I had to come up with a couple of hearty yet healthy soup recipes. Crediting BTB for inspiring this easy Broccoli and Potato Soup.

Broccoli and Potato Soup

 I am so pleased with how hearty and flavorful this recipe turned out! Serve with some toasted crusty bread and enjoy.

Ingredients (4 – 6 servings):

- 2 Small heads of broccoli, trim off stem and use florets for soup

- 3 Medium sized yellow potatoes

- 1 Medium sized onion, chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic, roughly sliced

- 1 32oz box of chicken or vegetable stock (or home-made stock)

- 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste, so adjust as needed)

Directions

- Heat up 1 – 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot, add chopped onion and sliced garlic. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

- Add potatoes, stir with onions and garlic to coat with oil. About 2 – 3 minutes.

- Add chicken or vegetable stock to cover potatoes, broccoli, garlic, and onions and bring to boil. Cover and lower to low-medium heat, and let simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are relatively soft.

- Then, add broccoli and simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes.  Cook until tender.

- In batches, use a food processor to roughly blend the ingredients.

Coming up next, Mushroom and Wild Rice soup!! Delish!

Curry Up for A Healthy New Beginning!

by

Happy 2013! Hope everyone had a great holiday season and a fantastic new start.  To kick things off the right way (and really to detox from a very meaty and sweet holiday) I finally decided to try and make a vegetarian dish.  I said finally because I’ve always suffered from many food intolerances.  In particular, barley, most legumes, and soy really makes it difficult to get the protein I need from a vegetarian diet. But it’s a new year and I’m willing to give it a shot.

What better teacher than Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood cookbook?  For those of you who have never seen the book itself, I definitely recommend checking it out.  Aside from the delicious vegetarian recipes, the hand lettering aesthetics really makes it homey.  Flipping through the book, her Mushroom Curry caught my eye mostly due to the use of apples, lack of legumes and dairy.

Mollie Katzen Moosewood Cookbook's Mushroom Curry

Mollie Katzen Moosewood Cookbook’s Mushroom Curry

All the spices may seem daunting at first, but follow the recipe 100% and you’ll find making curry from scratch is really not too difficult! This recipe is definitely a winner.  Aside from the seducing aroma, the Cremini mushrooms have the perfect “meaty” and creamy texture, celery a nice crunch, honey & coconut balances the tartness of the apples and tomatoes.

Here’s the recipe:

To save time, you can use boxed or canned chopped tomatoes, I added the honey and water as suggested but decided to skip the yogurt topping as I found the dish tart enough on its own.  Also see alternative serving suggestion below the recipe!

Mollie Katzen's Mushroom Curry Recipe

BRANCHING OWL ALTERNATE SERVING SUGGESTION:

Yes, you can have curry for breakfast.  Here’s how:

Instead of serving this dish with rice, top a fried egg on a small bowl of curry and eat it with some toasted thick crusty bread on the side.  Yummy!

Stay tuned this week for more veggie soups!

Happy Owlidays! Holiday Dinner Thyme – Part III of III

by

Following Part I’s Pre-Appetizers and Part II’s Appetizer & Main Course recipes, I would like to share with you one of my favorite Ice Cream recipes as well as the “how-to” instructions on creating this super-festive Owliday dinner menu!

Owliday Dinner menu & tablescape

There’s definitely an art to Ice-cream making, but it sounds more intimidating than it may seem – more on technique later.   That said, experienced or not, this David Lebovitz Pumpkin Pie ice cream recipe sure isn’t one of those quick & easy treats, but I think the results are well worth the process. I followed the recipe without adding any “optional ingredients” and  topped off the ice cream with some crumbled Ginger Snaps prior to serving.  Remember, don’t skimp on the double “straining”, that key step makes the ice cream custard nice and smooth!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream with Ginger Snap Cookie Crumble

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream with Ginger Snap Cookie Crumble

Reading Buzzfeed is one of my favorite past times, not only do they have hilarious animal posts (such as this one), I love getting tips and inspiration from them!  This post on DIY Holiday Card and a trip to Paper Source was all I needed to get excited!

Tools Needed (for Menu and 3D Trees):

- 1″ Paper Punch; “Leaf” Edge Punch

- 3-D Foam Squares; Elmers Glue

- Color Markers; Silver / Gold Gel Pens

- White / Green Card Stock

- Paper Printables for Little 3-D Xmas Trees and Ornaments

- Awesome Owl Stamp & Stamp Ink Pad

- Small Red and White Felt Balls

DSC_0936

Menu Instructions (oh so festive!):

  1. With Silver / Gold gel pens, draw from top of menu “ornament  strings” of various lengths.
  2. Using Edge Paper Punch on green card stock, punch an edge long enough to cover the width of the menu. Glue on “Menu” card, covering part of the ornament strings.
  3. Print out  Modern Ornament free printable on white card stock, then use the 1″ Round Paper Punch and punch out the ornaments.
  4. Attach 1 small 3-D foam square on back of each of the paper ornament and press firmly onto the menu card at the end of each “ornament string”
  5. Glue on the red / white felt balls on top of the Green leafy edge.
  6. Stamp the Owl on the bottom right corner.
  7. Using a black marker, write out the menu items and draw out the “String Lights”
Owliday Menu!

Owliday Menu!

3-D Tree Instructions:

  1. Using white card stock, print out this free Xmas Tree printable.
  2. Cut out the triangles and fold each triangle in half.
  3. With Elmers glue, glue sides to each other – TADA!

Floral Arrangement:

To top off the tablescape, I assembled a very simple and fragrant bouquet of White Chrysanthemums, Parrot Tulips, and Hypercium Berries.

Until our next dinner party – season’s tweetings to you and yours!

Happy Owlidays! Holiday Dinner Thyme – Part II of III

by

I hope Part I’s Buttered Rum & Cranberry Popcorn and Kale Chips recipes are making you hungry! Let’s keep the holiday spirits high and move onto appetizer and main course recipes: Prosciutto Wrapped Stuffed Figs with Balsamic Vinegar Glaze & Provencal Rack of Lamb with Roasted Tomatoes.

The dynamic tastes & textures of the stuffed figs truly makes it a wonderful starter.  Also as a hostess favorite, these figs can be pre-assembled ahead of time and baked just before serving!

Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto

I’ve tried making this original Todd English recipe with smoked ham and prosciutto; based on the structural integrity and taste of the end product (as well as presentability) I have to recommend using Prosciutto – other modifications below.

Ingredients:

Serves 8

- 16 fresh Black Mission figs, cut off stem, exposing small section flesh, quarter through the stem end, leave root end intact

- 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (see Note)

- 16 paper-thin slices Prosciutto

- 2 tablespoon olive oil

- 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

- 1 teaspoon kosher salt

- 1 teaspoon black pepper

- 1  1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (to make glaze)

Recipe:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450F degrees.
  2. Stuff each fig with 1/2 tablespoon of Gorgonzola. (I’ve found the figs not really being able to hold more than ½ tbsp and that amount is perfect for each serving)
  3. Wrap each fig with a slice of Proscuitto and top with the oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper mixture.
  4. Place the figs in a greased medium-size baking pan. Bake until the figs are gooey on the inside and charred on the outside, soft but still firm, about 15 to 18 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, place the vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling until it reduces to about ¼ of the original volume, about 20 minutes. The vinegar will start to glisten, thicken, and taste much sweeter than the original liquid. (YUM!!!!)
  6. As soon as the figs come out of the oven, pour the hot glaze over them. Serve immediately.

NOTE: You can substitute Roquefort, Danish blue, or ricotta cheese for the Gorgonzola.

Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto

This Epicurious Provencal Rack of Lamb recipe has accompanied me through many Holidays and has never failed to impress – while the lamb itself is delicious, the potatoes and tomatoes are equally key. I double the amount of the garlic, thyme, rosemary rub so I have enough to cover as much surface area as I can to give the tomatoes and meat a nice crispy top. For the potatoes, I use a mandoline slicer to get a thin even cut.

Provencal Rack of Lamb

I prefer to have the potatoes go in the oven the same time as the tomatoes to get it cooked slightly before I place the lamb on top and finish the dish off.  Recipe and modifications reflected below:

Ingredients:

Serves 8

- 16 garlic cloves

- 16 teaspoons chopped thyme

- 8 teaspoon chopped rosemary

- 20 tablespoons olive oil, divided

- 8 medium tomatoes, halved  OR 32 – 40 cocktail tomatoes (while smaller, the flavor of cocktail tomatoes is well worth the extra cutting effort when regular tomatoes aren’t in season)

- 4 pounds frenched rack of lamb (4 chops per person, 1 rack usually has about 8 chops)

- 8 medium shallots, thinly sliced (1 1/3 cup)

- 8 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

- 8 tablespoons water

Recipe:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
  2. Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 4 teaspoon salt and 4 teaspoon pepper. Stir together with chopped Thyme, Rosemary, and 16 tablespoons oil.
  3. Pat lamb dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown lamb on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer lamb to a cutting board.
  4. Put tomatoes cut sides up in an oiled baking dish and top with a third of garlic mixture.
  5. Rub half of remaining garlic mixture on fat side of lamb racks.
  6. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium heat and cook shallots and potatoes, stirring occasionally, until edges are browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in water and remaining garlic mixture and remove from heat.
  7. In an oiled baking dish, arrange sliced potatoes / shallot mix (single layer as best you can). Roast for about 15 minutes then arrange lamb over potatoes and roast in oven, medium 35 – 40 minutes (medium rare 25 – 30 minutes).
  8. Place oiled baking dish with tomatoes in oven. Roast until tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
  9. Let stand, loosely covered, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with tomatoes.

Roasted Tomatoes Roasted Rack of Lamb