For the Minted Pea Puree
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
½ cup mint leaves, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ cup olive oil
½ cup grated parmesan
More olive oil, mint sprigs and/or pea tendrils for garnish
For the Lamb
1 ½ lbs lamb leg meat, de-boned, trimmed, and cut into bite sized pieces
3 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
The juice of 1 small lemon
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
24 rosemary sprigs to use as skewers
Marinate the Lamb
Combine all of the ingredients, except the rosemary sprigs, in a ceramic bowl, tupperware container, or ziplock bag. Let sit in the fridge at least 6 hours or overnight.
Make the Puree
Combine the peas, mint, garlic, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and puree until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the processor and puree once again. Transfer to a small dish and fold in the parmesan. Refrigerate until 1 hour before you are ready to serve, and then let come to room temperature.
Skewer the Lamb
Cut the rosemary sprigs into 3 inch pieces for appetizer portions, and 6 inch pieces for entrée portions. Strip each sprig of most of its leaves, save for one small bunch towards the bottom. Using a regular wooden skewer, pierce a piece of lamb to create a hole into which you can easily slip the rosemary skewer. Continue this process until all the lamb is skewered. For appetizer portions, you’ll want to do about 2 pieces per small 3 inch sprig, and for entrée size portions you’ll want to do about 5 per each larger 6 inch sprig. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Cook the Lamb
Set a large cast iron skilled over high heat. Once hot, place half of the prepared skewers in the pan and cook 1 minute, then carefully flip over the skewers and continue cooking an additional 1 to 2 minutes on the second side. Remove from the heat and repeat with the remaining skewers.
Serving
Spread the pea puree in the center of a serving platter and garnish with olive oil and mint sprigs and/or pea tendrils. Arrange the lamb skewers around the puree. You may also want to serve some toasted or grilled bread on the side.