Rome's Easter dish — milk-fed suckling lamb roasted with rosemary, garlic, white wine, and anchovies. The sauce starts as a frittini and finishes as a glossy braise — gamey, salty, deeply Roman.
Serves 6Prep 20 minCook 1 hr 15 min
What to ask for
This recipe calls for Abbacchio. Can't get it where you are?
Ingredients & method
Ingredients
1.5 kg abbacchio (suckling lamb, shoulder and leg pieces), bone-in, cut into 6 cm chunks
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed
4 sprigs rosemary
4 sage leaves
8 salt-cured anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped
200 ml dry white wine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Method
1Pat the lamb pieces dry. Season with salt and a grind of pepper.
2Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the lamb in a single layer; brown well on all sides, about 8 minutes.
3Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic, rosemary, and sage. Cook 3 minutes, turning the lamb in the aromatics.
4Pour in the wine and vinegar. Let bubble for 1 minute, scraping the fond.
5Cover, reduce heat to low, and braise gently for 45 minutes — turn the pieces twice. The meat should be tender and the liquid reduced to a coating glaze.
6In a small bowl, mash the anchovies with 2 tablespoons of the pan juices to make a paste. Stir back into the pan and cook another 5 minutes uncovered to finish the sauce.
7Serve hot with crusty bread to soak up the sauce — and a glass of Frascati.
Cook this well
$$ · roasts, smokers, and long cooks
Track a brisket overnight without opening the lid
Monitoring large cuts where opening the smoker or oven would cost heat.
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Chef's tip Don't use mature lamb — the dish depends on the suckling lamb's mild, almost milky flavour. If you can't find true abbacchio, use lamb under 4 months old.
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