Abbacchio alla romana (baked lamb roman style)

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ kilograms Leg of young lamb
2 Rosemary sprigs
Salt
Black Pepper; freshly ground
50 grams Butter or lard
4 larges Potatoes
4 tablespoons Dry white wine (optional)
55929 7. Typed by Heiko Ebeling.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/gas mark 8. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Sprinkle the lamb with rosemary leaves, or make small incicions all over the meat and push a few rosemary leaves into each one. Season with salt and pepper. In a heavy, heatproof casserole, brown the lamb on all sides in the butter or lard.

Surround it with the potatoes. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tender. Turn the lamb and the potatoes occasionally so that they brown evenly. If necessary baste the lamb with a little white wine to prevent it browning too quickly. Transfer the lamb to a heated serving dish and surround it withthe potatoes.

"The "abbacchio" which is served in Italy at Easter time is milk-fed baby lamb, so young and small that a leg will serve no more than 4 people. Baby lamb is almost impossible to find in Britain or the United States, but this method can be used to cook older lamb with excellent results."

Source: Jane Grigson (ed.): The World Atlas of Food. A Gourmet's Guide to the Great Regional Dishes of the World. Mitchell Beazley Publishers 1974. This edition: Spring Books, London 1988. ISBN 0 600 Submitted By HEIKO EBELING On 05-22-95

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