This is another of the classic Roman abbacchio recipes, featuring the front legs of the lamb, cooked in the “hunter’s style” with anchovies and served with bitter greens.

For this dish, we will use the front legs of the lamb, the shoulders and the vertebrae cut into pieces of about 2-3 inches (ask the butcher to do it for you, or, if you prefer, you can chop it if you have a Mannaia (cleaver) and a big butcher block.

I serve this with a slightly bitter salad. The best is the Italian Catalonian chicory, or puntarelle, which makes an excellent side salad. If you cannot find Catalonian chicory, consider radicchio, endive, or escarole.

Ingredients

For the Meat

  • Front legs, shoulders, and vertebrae, cut into 2-to-3-inch pieces
  • 1 or 2 tsp. tomato paste, depending how intense it is
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • 1 glass white wine
  • About ¼ cup (60 ml) of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

For the Sauce

  • 1/5 cup (50 ml) white vinegar
  • ¾ cup (200 ml) of olive oil
  • 4 anchovies, or 8 filets of anchovies
  • 2 garlic cloves

Preparation

Preparation of the Sauce

  1. Combine the white vinegar, olive oil, anchovies, and garlic cloves in a food processor or a blender and mix well. You can prepare the sauce up to 1 week in advance and keep in the refrigerator, in a tightly closed container. If made fresh, allow it to rest for 15 minutes before using it.

Preparation of the Meat

  1. Using a large, non-stick skillet, add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, put the heat to high. When the oil is hot, add the chopped lamb, and let them take a golden/brown color on all sides for 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Lower the heat and add the smashed garlic cloves. As soon as the garlic becomes gold, remove it. Add the tomato paste and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and olive oil sauce.  Simmer for 1 minute and add the white wine, increasing the heat to allow the alcohol to evaporate, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the rosemary, salt, black pepper, and add 6 cups (1.5 liters) of water. Partially cover the pan and let it cook on medium or medium-low for about 45 minutes.
  4. Remove the pieces of lamb from the skillet with a slotted spoon and reserve in a large bowl. Increase the heat, cooking until the liquid becomes very thick, almost like a paste.  De-glaze if necessary with some water, then pour this sauce on top of the lamb pieces and serve.
  5. Consider a serving of a salad, such as the puntarella (chicory salad) dressed with the sauce.
  6. Buon appetito!