Roman-Style Spring Lamb With Fresh Sugar Snap Pea Salad
The Romans make a classic dish in the spring with very young milk-fed lamb. Such meat is hard to find in American supermarkets, but the technique, which involves a short braise in vinegar and water with a boost of anchovy at the end, works fine with chunks of lamb cut from a leg or roast of any young lamb. This recipe is built on the precise technique for abbacchio alla cacciatora that Marcella Hazan offered in "The Classic Italian Cookbook," with some freshening up. The braised chunks of meat are topped with a crunchy sugar snap pea salad that carries the heat of Calabria peppers, a recipe from Whitney Otawka, who grew up in California and now cooks in Georgia. (The salad is a great stand-alone recipe, too, and one that would be terrific alongside a ham, if yours is an Easter ham family.)
- Total:
- Serves: 6 persons
Ingredients
- 1teaspoon salt
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3pounds young lamb from the shoulder or the leg, cut into uniform 2-inch chunks
- 2tablespoons cooking fat, preferably lard or olive oil
- 1tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1teaspoon chopped garlic
- 2teaspoons flour
- ½cup white wine vinegar or Champagne vinegar
- 4large anchovy fillets, chopped
- 3cups sugar snap pea salad with Calabrian pepper and fennel (see recipe), omitting the pecorino Romano
Instructions
Step 1
Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the lamb cubes, tossing a few times to distribute it evenly. Heat the fat in a large, sturdy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the pieces of lamb, working in batches if needed so the meat is not crowded in the pan.Step 2
Reduce heat to medium and return all the meat and any juices to the pan. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook for another minute or so, turning the meat. Sift the flour over the meat, and turn again so the flour is absorbed. This should take just another minute or so. Add the vinegar and bring it to a boil, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add 1/2 cup water, then lower the heat so the liquid barely simmers and then cover the pan.Step 3
Cook for an hour, or until the meat is very tender, turning it every once in a while. Add a few tablespoons of water if the sauce is too thick or the meat is beginning to stick to the pan.Step 4
Mash the anchovies in a small bowl. Take about 1/3 cup of the sauce and mix it well with the anchovies. Add the mixture back to the meat, stirring briefly so the meat is well coated. Put the meat on a platter and arrange the pea salad across the top. Or, divide into 6 servings and top each with 1/2 cup of the salad.