| Directions: |
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
1. Rub the lamb with one tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and rub with rosemary and thyme. (Suzy likes to break the stems of the herbs and rub the essence on the lamb in addition to the leaves. She doesn't leave a heavy layer of herbs on the meat, preferring the subtle flavor of simply lightly rubbing the meat with the herbs, then removing most of them).
2. Heat the remaining olive oil in an ovenproof skillet. Add the lamb, fat side down, and cook over high heat until browned, about five minutes. Turn and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
3. Add 1/2 cup of the port. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the lamb for 18 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 125 degrees for medium rare meat. You may prefer to cook the lamb a bit longer.
4. Transfer the racks to a carving board, cover loosely with foil. Add the remaining 1/2 cup port and the figs to the skillet. Bring to a simmer, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and stirring them into the sauce.
5. Add the stock and the vinegar and simmer over moderately high heat until thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Carve the racks into chops and set 4 on each plate. Top with the figs, spoon on the sauce, and serve.
NOTE: Suzy serves this lamb with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans with slivered almonds. Suzy tops her mashed potatoes with garlic butter. To make it, simply melt a stick of butter in a saucepan. Add two cloves (or more if you prefer) of fresh chopped garlic. Cook on the stovetop until butter has turned a nutty brown color and the garlic has been infused. Make a small well in each serving of mashed potatoes and spoon the garlic butter into the well.
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