• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Therapist Cooks
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Memorial Day Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Memorial Day Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Recipes » Appetizers

Lamb Lollipops with Warm Mint Pesto {valentine's day}

Published: Feb 4, 2015 Last Updated: Sep 2023 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. 3 Comments

Jump to Recipe
No ratings yet

To be incredibly clear, I hate the word lollipop.  It just sounds SO dumb, and this is not a dumb recipe.  IMG_4925

Want to Read Later?

You can email this post to yourself (or anyone else!), so you can come back to it later!

Actually, it's kind of dumb-easy, but the flavors are SEXY.  

So sexy, in fact, that I think this should be on your menu for Valentine's Day, if you eat meat and are into that kind of celebration.  

We actually made these on Sunday for the Super Bowl, and I had to explain to everyone why we were eating random bits of lamb with the rest of the menu.  My friend Cara picked up one of the pieces of lamb and said "omg I just wish we ate like this on Valentine's Day:  WITH OUR FINGERS AND LOTS OF MEAT!"  So there you have it, folks.  Very Paleo.  

To be fair, you could totally serve 3 of these as an entree and use a knife and fork like civilized people, but I kind of love the idea of housing some meat on a stick for V-day, ya know?  It seems really irreverent and great.  Eff knives.  

For these, we start with a Frenched rack of lamb (or have the butcher do the cutting for you!), some butter, and salt.  That's IT for the lamb.  Then for the sauce we have mint, parsley, crushed red pepper, garlic, cashews, rice vinegar, olive oil, and a bit more butter.  IMG_4901

I think the easiest thing to do here is to make the sauce, then preheat a pan for the lamb while you do any trimming/cutting you need to do, then sear the lamb while the sauce warms in a separate skillet and SERVE.  I mean, we're talking 30 minutes or less to lamb, here.  Start with the sauce!  All ingredients go in a little food processor or blender.  IMG_4909

Blend!  Taste, adjust seasoning to your preference.  IMG_4911

Lamb!  Preheat a large skillet (cast iron is my favorite) to medium-high heat with half the butter and a drizzle of olive oil.  Put the little chops right in between each of the rib bones, and trim off any extra fat.  You can also ask the guy behind the butcher to do this, but I like messing with raw meat, so there.  Sprinkle the lamb all over with salt.  IMG_4907

Now, when the skillet is super hot, add the lamb and LET IT SIT.  We only turn it once during the entire cooking process, so calm down and find something else to do.  IMG_4908

While the lamb works on the first side, add the mint pesto to a little skillet with the rest of the butter and turn the skillet to medium-low.  We want to very gently warm the pesto and cook the garlic a bit while the butter melts into the sauce.  IMG_4913

Now, after 3-5 minutes, flip the lamb and let it cook for a few more minutes.  The lamb should have a nice crust on it from the butter, and how long you cook it will of course depend on your preference.  I did these for about 4 minutes on each side and they were medium, which was perfect for us.  IMG_4912

Now, we have butter melted in to pesto and lovely seared lamb.  IMG_4915

I say we drizzle and eat.  IMG_4919

Yep.  IMG_4935

You could serve these as an appetizer, like at the restaurant where Jay used to work, or you could serve these as the main course with some fancy sides for Valentine's Day, OR you could just make these for the next time you're having friends over and want to feel fancy.  IMG_4925

No matter how you end up, these are DELICIOUS and you'll love them.  Try them soon!  ps the pesto will probably have leftovers, and if you toss that with some gnocchi the next day no one will be mad at you.  Promise.  

Recipe

Lamb Lollipops with Mint Pesto

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Ingredients
  

  • 1 frenched rack of lamb 6-8 rib bones
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt plus more to taste
  • ½ cup mint leaves
  • ½ cup parsley leaves
  • 1 clove garlic
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • ¼ cup cashews
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions
 

  • Combine the parsley, mint, crushed red pepper, garlic, cashews, ¼ cup oil, vinegar, and water in a small blender or food processor. Pulse to combine, and taste: add some salt if you'd like. Add more water if the mixture is very thick - it should be loose enough to stir easily.
  • Preheat a large skillet to medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil. Cut the lamb in between each of the rib bones to make small chops, and sprinkle with the salt.
  • Sear the lamb for 3-5 minutes on each side, according to your temperature preference, flipping once. 3 minutes on each side will yield rare lamb.
  • While the lamb cooks, add the pesto to a small skillet with the remaining butter, and turn to medium-low. Let the pesto warm gently and stir in the butter.
  • When the lamb is cooked, drizzle with the pesto and serve extra on the side for dipping. Eat with your fingers or as part of your favorite meal!

Nutrition

Serving: 2g
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

More Killer Appetizer Recipes

  • A hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and pimento cheese on parchment paper.
    15 Easy Memorial Day Recipes
  • Smoked salmon charcuterie board with scallion cream cheese and pickled red onions.
    Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board
  • Small white bowl of cream cheese and scallions.
    Scallion Cream Cheese
  • hand scooping cheesy corn dip in air on white background.
    25 Super Bowl Snack Ideas for 2025

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lokness

    February 06, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    You trimmed the lamb chops beautifully! No doubt an awesome savory dish for Valentine's Day! Pinning!

    Reply
    • funnyloveblog

      February 06, 2015 at 3:46 pm

      Thanks! Let me know if you make it and how it turns out!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Image of Lindsay Howerton-Hastings smiling sitting on dark gray couch wearing chambray blue shirt.

Hi! I'm Lindsay. I'm a maternal mental health therapist, a recipe developer, food writer, and taker of all kinds of pictures. Thank you so much for being here! This blog is about how to take care of yourself and your people without taking anything too seriously.

More about me →

Yummy Memorial Day Recipes

  • White plate with tofu steak, baked potato and steamed broccoli.
    Marinated Tofu Steak

  • Serving dish of strawberry cucumber salad with pickled white onions.
    Strawberry Cucumber Salad

  • Sugar Snap Pea Salad Recipe Southern and Gluten Free
    Easy Sugar Snap Pea Salad

  • Ceramic plate of grilled bacon wrapped shrimp with a small dish of garlic lemon aioli.
    Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

  • ham and swiss cheese sliders
    Seriously Good Ham Delights

  • cold buffalo chicken salad in white bowl with celery leaves on top.
    Easy Cold Buffalo Chicken Dip with Rotisserie Chicken

Most Popular Recipes

  • Black skillet with sliced steak and shallot sauce.
    Cast Iron New York Strip

  • indian butter chicken served with rice in a white bowl.
    Easy Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

  • homemade hibachi shrimp bowl in white serving bowl with asparagus and white rice.
    3-ingredient Hibachi Shrimp

  • white plate of asparagus casserole with a silver fork.
    BEST Easy Asparagus Casserole

  • Braised Chicken Thighs with Leeks and Lemon
    One-Skillet Chicken and Leeks

  • Brown Butter Blondies

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Emails

  • Sign Up! to get new recipes in your inbox

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Loading Comments...
 

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required