Lamb & Mint Hand Pies

I know my way around luxurious food. Lobster, duck, filet mignon, pate—even foie gras—I’ve tried my fair share of expensive haute cuisine. It’s not that I’m rich, I just like to try new things and different restaurants that have 5-star chefs cooking in the kitchen.

I’ve never tried to make any of those things, though. I couldn’t bring myself to cook a live lobster, duck seems incredibly fickle, and filet mignon is just too expensive at the grocery store for what little meat you end up getting.

Lamb is another extravagant protein. I’ve only tried it once, when we were on our honeymoon. They were serving a roast leg of lamb with a mint jelly that was absolutely divine. Again, I’ve cruised past lamb at the butcher counter in the grocery store because of it’s high price tag. Who knew that fluffy animal could be so expensive!

I knew I wanted to cook something with lamb sometime this year, but just didn’t know what. I found a lamb hand pie recipe and decided to run with it. Plus, ground lamb is much less expensive than other cuts like shanks or chops.

This opulent sounding hand pie ended up being very affordable, and very delicious. Mint and lamb were just meant to be. Ground lamb works perfectly as a mince with carrots, onions and mushrooms. This hand pie is both earthy and extravagant.

I’m not a 5-star chef, so I decided to take the easy way out when it came to the pie dough: frozen puff pastry. Why mess with a thing that’s perfect and easy? Pre-made puff pastry is a life saver in my kitchen.

If you cut your pastry up perfectly, this recipe will make four rather large pies. If you cut it up like a fourth grader (see: me) you can end up with 6-7 misshapen hand pies. These little guys refrigerate remarkably well, too. The crust was still flaky when I heated one up earlier today!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add lamb and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 4-6 minutes or until  browned. Transfer to a plate.

Add onion, carrot and mushroom. Saute for 2-3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add lamb back into skillet, along with flour. Stir for 1 minute.

Add salt, pepper, broth and mustard. Stir until thickened, about another minute.

Remove from heat and stir in fresh mint.

Make the hand pies: cut squares or rectangles out of puff pastry dough (I just used a butter knife). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place one square of dough on the sheet. Put 1-2 tablespoons of lamb filling in the middle, spreading out if needed but leaving about 1/8″ edge for the egg wash. Top with a sprinkle of shredded Irish cheddar and then brush egg wash around edge.

Add top piece of square dough and pinch edges together. Using a fork, press edges again to make a border. Cut and “x” in the top. Brush tops with egg wash.

Continue with remaining dough and filling. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook hand pies for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.