Recipe: Lamb with Goat Cheese and Asparagus in Puff Pastry and Scallion Sauce

I searched my files, cookbooks and the web and couldn't find the special recipe my husband requested for his birthday dinner. I did, however, find another recipe which I adapted from the magazine, La Cucina Italiana, that was similar. The primary difference was they used puréed asparagus instead of duxelle (much easier, thank-you) and goat cheese wasn't included in the recipe. I added this to the puréed asparagus, but it is optional. The recipe also called for using a lamb loin, which would have been easier to work with. By default, I used a boneless leg of lamb which was more cumbersome, but delicious, nevertheless.

Yield: 6-8 serving
Active Time: 75 minutes (sauce may be made while lamb is roasting)
Bake Time: 70-80 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 ounces asparagus, trimmed and roughly chopped 
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme or rosemary leaves
• 1/2 log (4-5 ounces) soft goat cheese, optional
• 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 egg plus 1 egg white
• 1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs (made from stale bread)
• 10 ounces ground lamb
• 1 boneless lamb loin or boneless leg of lamb (3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat.
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound frozen puff pastry*, thawed
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 5 scallions cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

*1 (17 ounce) box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400?.
2. Cook asparagus in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain. Purée in food processor with thyme, goat cheese, if using, 1 teaspoon of the butter and garlic.
3. In a large bowl, whisk egg (reserving egg white for later use) with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Stir in bread crumbs, asparagus mixture and ground lamb.
4. With a sharp knife, slice the entire length of the loin or leg of lamb three-quarters of the way through. Lay the lamb on a double layer of parchment paper that has been moistened with water. Spread the asparagus mixture inside, close, season with salt and pepper, and roll up in the paper. Tie with butcher's string, and place on an oiled baking sheet.
5. Bake on middle rack of oven 40 minutes. Discard paper and let cool. (Up to this point, the roast may be prepared the day before.)
6. Following the directions on the puff pastry box, roll the pastry to ¼-inch thickness, and place lamb in center. Enclose in the pastry, and seal by crimping the edges. (If puff pastry separates, moisten your fingers and crimp it together.) Whisk egg white and brush over pastry. Bake at 400° for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until desired doneness (145° internal temperature for medium-rare).
7. While lamb is roasting, make a scallion sauce by cook scallions in a saucepan with ¼ cup water, the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, cream, salt and pepper. Purée in a food processor. Remove the lamb from the oven. Slice, sprinkle with parsley. and serve with scallion sauce.

This recipe was adapted by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Jan. 13, 2011.