Recipe - Lamb In Pastry With Mint Pesto

MINT PESTO
1 One fourth cup Washed, chopped fresh mint
leaves, stems removed
1 lg Clove garlic, peeled &
minced
One fourth cup Olive oil
Salt & freshly ground black
pepper to taste
8 Thick lamb chops
1 pack (large) frozen puff pastry,
thawed (I assume phyllo
would be just as good)
1 Egg yolk, beaten

GARNISH
Fresh mint
Mint Jelly (optional)

Here are a couple from one of my favorite cookbooks...Creative Chef II. I
haven't tried them yet, but so far this cookbook has not let me down. I
even know some of the people who have contributed to it, and know the
recipes are tested! And these both sound SOOOO good! And both are elegant
and wellsuited for smaller cuts of lamb. I might have posted them before,
but it's been a while...so...

Heat oven to 400

Make mint pesto by pureeing mint, garlic, olive oil & seasonings in food
processor or blender. Place in small bowl & set aside.

Trim any excess fat off lamb. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Roll out
puff pastry into fairly thin squares. Cut into 8 pieces, each big enoughb
to enclose 1 lamb chop.

Place 1 tbs mint pesto in center of each square and top with 1 lamb chop.
Top with another spoonful of mint pesto and fold over to enclose lamb.
Using a little water, crimp edges together firmly. Brush top of pastries
all over with beaten egg yolk. Bake until puff pastry is golden brown and
meat is mediumrare, roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish with mint leaves and
serve piping hot, with mint jelly if desired. Posted to TNT Prodigy's
Recipe Exchange Newsletter by NAFY67C@prodigy.com (DEBORAH EPSTEIN) on Mar
27, 1997