Grilled Rack of Lamb with Saffron Rice

A rich, succulent cut of lamb with an earthy spice rub and rice maintain a good nutrition profile. The spices add flavor to the lamb with no additional fat and negligible sodium, while the prudent three-ounce serving size of meat keeps fat in check. Serving this entrée with a spiced rice rounds out the meal. One serving of this dish offers about one-fourth of your daily saturated fat allotment. Plate with steamed haricots verts.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 lamb chops and 3/4 cup rice)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  diced onion
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup  uncooked basmati rice
• 2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4  teaspoon  saffron threads, crushed
• 1  bay leaf
• 3/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon  paprika
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground coriander
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground cardamom
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1  (1 1/2-pound) French-cut rack of lamb (8 ribs)
• 1  teaspoon  olive oil

Preparation

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add rice and next 3 ingredients (through bay leaf); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Keep warm.

2. Prepare grill.

3. Combine salt and next 6 ingredients (through pepper). Brush lamb with oil, and rub with salt mixture. Place lamb on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes, turning once or until a thermometer registers 145° (medium-rare) to 160° (medium). Let stand 5 minutes before slicing into chops. Serve lamb with rice.

Wine note: Lamb—even spicy lamb like this—is one of the most flexible meats when it comes to wine. It goes with just about every major red varietal. That said, when spice plays a key role, as it does here, I love to choose a thick, rich, spicy red that will both mirror the spiciness of the dish and act as a soft, thick backdrop. An Australian shiraz is perfect. And since this is a special, fairly expensive cut of meat, I've chosen a wine worthy of it: Penfolds St. Henri 2003 from South Australia, $42. —Karen MacNeil

Nutritional Information

Calories:

294 (35% from fat)

Fat:

11.3g (sat 4.5g,mono 4.7g,poly 0.5g)

Protein:

24.1g

Carbohydrate:

22.6g

Fiber:

1.9g

Cholesterol:

68mg

Iron:

2.4mg

Sodium:

618mg

Calcium:

40mg