Paola di Mauro’s Roman Lamb
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2¼pounds young lamb, the leg or shoulder, bone in, cut into eight chunks
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4cloves garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1tablespoon instant flour, like Wondra
- ¾cup dry white wine
- 1tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 4oil-packed anchovy filets, coarsely chopped
- 3tablespoons wine vinegar
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1774 calories; 183 grams fat; 91 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 76 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 18 grams protein; 762 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2
Rinse the lamb chunks under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Step 3
In a casserole or roasting pan large enough to hold all pieces of lamb, heat olive oil over medium-high to high heat. When oil is almost smoking, add lamb chunks and brown quickly, turning frequently, for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 4
Coarsely chop 2 of the garlic cloves; add to lamb as it browns. When all the lamb is browned, add salt and abundant pepper. Sprinkle flour over lamb pieces, and turn them to mix in seasoning and salt. Add wine; as soon as it starts to bubble, cover pan and place in oven to roast, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Step 5
While lamb is roasting, coarsely chop remaining garlic, and using a mortar and pestle, pound it with chopped rosemary into a coarse paste. Add chopped anchovies, and continue pounding to make a fairly smooth paste. A tablespoon at a time, mix in wine vinegar to make a smooth emulsion.
- Step 6
When lamb has roasted for 30 minutes, remove from oven, and pour vinegar emulsion over lamb pieces. Turn them to coat well with sauce. Return to oven, uncovered, to roast an additional 30 minutes.
- Step 7
When lamb is done, with no trace of red in the meat, remove from oven, set aside for 5 minutes, then put lamb on a heated serving platter. Bring pan juices to a boil and cook rapidly for about 45 seconds, or just long enough to reduce juices and thicken them slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour juices over lamb chunks; serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
This recipe also works fantastically using lamb shanks. The anchovies work umami magic. I added medium steamed, whole small (not pearl though) onions that melted down and carmalized adding another layer to the sauce and finished dish. A bold red wine also works and gives a different dynamic to the sauce.
How fascinating to see this recipe, which I published in the NYT back in 1994, almost 25 years ago. Paola di Mauro, whose recipe I described, was indeed a very great cook and this recipe, in its simplicity and directness, is emblematic of her style--which itself was the essence of la cucina casalinga romana. Thanks, Sam and the NYT, for resurrecting it.
This looks awesome. One question though... why use wondra and not just standard flour?
The sauce is amazing. I think the cook on the lamb is too long for me. I like more medium, medium rare.
Too much anchovy flavor. Don't coat meat with paste/ sauce. Don't do 2nd oven cook.
Here in Rome this traditional dish is made with what we call abbacchio--Roman dialect for young, milk-fed lamb. It is generally baked in a casserole. Abbacchio, which the butcher hacks into rough bone-in pieces from every part of the lamb, is very tender with a delicate taste. Thus we keep the ingredients simple so as not to overpower the meat. Even with older and stronger flavored lamb, resist the urge to pile on ingredients. in the Italian kitchen, less is more.