Pastry-Wrapped Lamb Lollipops w/ Shitake & Salsify Hash

Ok, I didn't quite get the best angle in this thing, but what you're supposed to be looking at are a pair of pastry-wrapped lamb chops resting on a bed of Shitake mushroom and salsify.

The chops we did like any other night...seasoned & seared on all sides, then wrapped in pastry sheets that have had herb de provence pressed into the dough. Popped into a 375 oven until 140-145 degrees in the center, these little guys are like flaky, meaty lollipops...reminds me of an upscale corndog.

The real star of this dish was the mushroom & salisfy saute.



We were in Reading Terminal Market and found some great organic watercress and some fresh Shitake mushrooms from the Fair Farm stand, then we spotted some cigar-like salsify root at another veggie stand. The salsify is called the "Oyster Plant" because it has an oyster like taste, with a tinge of sweetness, like a white yam.

We peeled and cut the salsify into biased wafers, chopped the mushrooms and commenced to cooking.



I had bought some ground lamb, which I mashed into tiny bits and then browned in some olive oil, along with a dash of some mushroom dust I bought at the Spice Corner; this is quickly becoming my crutch for creating instant gravy-like heartiness in a dish.

Next, the salsify goes in to begin cooking down...I've never cooked this before, but it resembles carrots in the way it sweated off...finally the mushrooms and a splash of water to deglaze any of the lamb bits.


Here's yet another bad angle on what turned out to be a decent dish...I should've bought another 3 or 4 salsify roots to keep experimenting with the mushroom/salsify combo.