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Mashed Potatoes with Onion and Rosemary (Schiacciata di patate)

By

On September 24, 2025

In Side Dishes

Ingredients

  • 4 potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • Olive oil
  • 1 medium sprig of rosemary,  minced

Preparation

  1. Put the potatoes in a pot covered with cold water turn heat to high, and since the time the water boils wait 40 min. Let the potatoes cool 5 minutes so you can touch them, then peel them and smash them.
  2. As you are cooking the potatoes, cut 2 red onions in thin slices and cook them in olive oil medium to low fire, when they become soft, add 1 glass of hot water and let them cook a few more minutes.
  3. Mix onions and potatoes and the rosemary. If necessary add more water, it must be soft and creamy, cook for 10 minutes on medium/low, adding water if necessary.
  4. Serve with Abbacchio or any other meat dish.  Buon appetito!

Abbacchio Recipe: The Head of the Lamb

By

On September 24, 2025

In Entrees

Head of the lamb

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (200 grams) of bread crumbs
  • 1 cup whole milk [No amount specified]
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 handful fresh Italian parsley, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste (use more salt than normal because the brain needs salt)
  • 1 lamb head. Ask your butcher to cut the head longitudinally so you have two mirror halves.

Preparation

  1. Heat oven at 350 F (175C).
  2. Gently rinse the head under slowly running cold water to remove the blood.
  3. Put a large pot of water on high heat. When the water boils, add the two pieces of the lamb head. Boil it about 12 minutes.
  4. Remove the two halves of the head and allow them to cool for about 15-20 minutes.
  5. Remove the brain from the head with a spoon, and with a knife remove the meat on the cheek bones.
  6. Mince the meat from the cheek bones and place in a medium sized bowl. Chop the brain, adding it to the same bowl.
  7. Squeeze the breadcrumbs to remove excess milk, and add to the bowl with the brain and minced meat. Add the minced garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients well.
  8. Divide the mixture into two “meatballs” and place them back into the head bones.
  9. Cover the surface of the “meatballs” with the remaining bread crumbs and drizzle a little bit of olive oil. Place the two halves of the head into a large roasting pan, and bake at 350 F for 12 minutes.
  10. Increase temperature to broil for just one 1 minute – check check it out! Do not let it burn, you just want it to get a light crust on top.
  11. Remove from the oven and serve with some bruschetta (toasted olive bread, best with olive oil and, if you like, also rub on the bread a clove of garlic).

Suggested Side dishes:

  1. Chicory leaves – 2 leaves per person, immerse the in water an ice, and take them out at he table in front of everybody and with your own hands put some of the sauce of the puntarelle (see recipe Spallucce di Abbacchio alla Cacciatora) over each leaf and enjoy!
  2. Schiacciata di patate (mashed potatoes with onion and rosemary.

Abbacchio Cosciotto al Forno (the 2 hind legs of the lamb).

By

On September 24, 2025

In Entrees

 

I’ve included two recipes.  The first is the classical Roman recipe.  The second is a Spanish recipe provided by a good friend from Spain.

Abbacchio Cosciotto al Forno, a Classical Roman Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 legs of lamb, bone in
  • 1 red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 sprig of rosemary [how much? You didn’t specify]
  • 1 cup (250 ml) of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup (250 ml) of WHITE wine?
  • Salt and black pepper

Preparation

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 F (220 C).
  2. Chop black pepper, salt, rosemary, and 3 garlic cloves and mix well. Use a knife to make several small “holes” or deep cuts along/inside the leg of the abbacchio. Massage the leg with the spice mixture, pushing it into the holes.
  3. Put the onion, celery stocks, and carrot on the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the two legs of lamb. Lay the legs of lamb over the chopped vegetables, then pour some olive oil all over it.
  4. Put the roasting pan in the oven, uncovered. After 10 minutes, turn the legs of lamb, and roast for 10 more minutes.  Add 1 cup of white wine and enough water to cover for about ½ inch (1 cm) the bottom of the pan. Turn down the oven to 350 F (180 C) and continue to cook 40 minutes per side, for a total total cooking time of about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
  5. Put the legs on a board to let them cool. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the roasting pan. In the meantime, de-glaze the roasting liquids by turning on a burner to boil the liquid. Use a wooden spoon detach all the adhered pieces of meat from the roasting pan.  Pour this sauce over the lamb and serve.
  6. Buon appetito!

Abbacchio Cosciotto, from the Brugarolas Family in Spain

This recipe is from my friend and colleague Jim Brugarolas, a top Spanish scientist, who works at University of Texas Southwestern. It’s the Brugarolas family recipe, and I love it

Ingredients

  • 8 sprigs of fresh thyme, divided
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • Salt
  • ¾ cup olive oil, divided

Preparation

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
  2. With a knife, make holes/cuts into the leg of the lamb.
  3. Remove the leaves from about 6 sprigs of thyme and chop 2 garlic cloves add some salt and mix well. Massage this mixture with some olive oil around the leg and push some of it inside the holes/cuts you made.
  4. Place the leg directly into the roasting pan and pour over it 1/2 cup of olive oil and water for a depth of about 1 cm. Add 2 more springs of thyme and a couple of smashed garlic cloves. Put in the oven at 350, uncovered, and roast for 1 and half hours.
  5. Serve the legs of lamb, using the liquid from roasting it as a delicious sauce.
  6. Buon appetito!

 

Spallucce di Abbacchio (Lamb) alla Cacciatora

By

On September 24, 2025

In Entrees

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!

 

Braciolette di Abbacchio (Lamb Ribs)

By

On September 24, 2025

In Entrees

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs, beaten in a shallow bowl
  • 1 cup (300 grams) of breadcrumbs, poured in a large shallow bowl
  • 1 cup (300 grams) of all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups (800 ml) olive oil, or, if you prefer, vegetable oil
  • 1 small sprig of rosemary, minced
  • 3 lemons, quartered?
  • Ribs of the abbacchio, sliced into individual rib-chops
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Mix the minced rosemary with the breadcrumbs in a large, shallow bowl.
  2. Using a large non-stick skillet, add the olive (or vegetable) oil and turn the heat to high.
  3. Beat the eggs in a large shallow bowl. Immerse the ribs into the beaten eggs, then dip each into the breadcrumb and rosemary mixture.
  4. Transfer the ribs into the pan with olive oil, turn once. [How many minutes per side?] They will be ready in a couple of minutes, as soon as they are golden. Pull them from the skillet, allow them to drain briefly on a platter lined with paper towels, then add pepper and salt
  5. Serve immediately with some slices of fresh lemon.

Coratella – A Classic Roman Abbacchio Recipe

By

On September 24, 2025

In Dr. Michele Carbone

This is my preferred abbacchio dish, which consists of the cooked organs of the milk-fed lamb, or abbacchio. It includes the liver, heart, spleen, and lungs. If you are in Rome go to Sora Lella, one of the remaining old, real Roman restaurants located in a beautiful old house/tower in the middle of the city in the Isola Tiberina, the only restaurant on this tiny island. It’s a15 minute walk from Saint Peter’s piazza. If you go there, order this fantastic dish. They taught me how to make it.

Ingredients

  • 3 large “Roman” Artichokes
  • 3 red onions, cut in thin slices
  • Vinegar [what kind and how much]
  • Fresh squeezed lemon juice [how much?]
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 3 leaves of sage
  • 1 and 1/3 cups (314 ml) of extra virgin olive oil, evenly divided into 2/3 cups (175 ml) and 2/3 cups (175 ml) for different parts of the cooking process
  • 1 -2 chopped Calabrian red peppers
  • 1 cup of white wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Put the coratella in a bowl with water and some vinegar [HOW MUCH VINEGAR].
  2. Soak the coratella for about 30 minutes. Rinse the coratella well.
  3. While the coratella is soaking with the water and vinegar, clean the artichokes, then cut each artichoke in 8 pieces. Put the cut artichokes in a large bowl with water and lemon juice for 20 minutes.
  4. Chop the rinsed coratella in small pieces and separate into two bowls; the liver pieces should be in a different bowl than the other organs. The liver is kept separate from the other organs because it cooks more rapidly.
  5. Put the 2/3 cup of olive oil into a medium-sized saucepan on high heat. Add 1 smashed clove of garlic and the artichoke pieces. Once the artichoke pieces take a nice gold color on all sides (about 5 minutes), lower the heat and add 1 cup of hot water. Cook for another 10 minutes on low.
  6. In a non-stick skillet on medium heat, add olive oil (about 2/3 of a cup) and the onion slices. Simmer for 2 to3 minutes. Add the herbs and the chopped lungs (these are not available in the US) and partially cover, simmering for another 10 minutes.
  7. After 10 minutes, raise the heat to medium-low and add the chopped heart and spleen, the chopped Calabrian pepper, salt, and a glass of white wine. Continue to simmer partially covered for about 8 minutes. Add the liver, then use a slotted spoon [or do you include the 2/3 cup olive oil used to cook the artichokes] to add the artichokes from the other pan. If it looks dry—it should not— add some water.  Mix well and cook partially covered on medium heat for 5 more minutes.
  8. Add a little more olive oil, taste for hot pepper and salt and add more if you like.
  9. Serve this to your guests while it’s still hot.

Five Roman Abbacchio Recipes (suckling lamb recipes) for 12 People

By

On September 24, 2025

In Entrees

Abbacchio, a suckling, or milk-fed lamb, must be 8 weeks old or less and should not weigh more than 7 kg (15 lb.)  This is a delicacy in Rome, and there are four typical Roman dishes that are prepared from 1 abbacchio. Each dish alone feeds 4 people:

One entire abbacchio will feed 10 -12 people. For a perfect dinner, start with a Rigatoni with Mussels, Bacala and Pecorino (another classic Roman recipe), and then continue with the four classic abbacchio dishes.

In addition, at the end I list a fifth recipe that is quite popular in the South of Italy: the head of the lamb. I have seen that in the US my guests first say, “No thank you!” Then they try it, and ask for more and more, because it is delicious.  If you cook it, I suggest you serve it as an appetizer with bruschetta, a toasted bread with some olive oil.

Italian Catalonian chicory, or puntarelle, makes an excellent side salad for any or all of these abbacchio dishes. If you cannot find Catalonian chicory, consider radicchio, endive, or escarole.

 

Classic Pork Ragu (for 8)

By

On September 24, 2025

In Dr. Michele Carbone

As fall approaches I have recently been experimenting with hearty, delicious dishes that pair with polenta. After exploring a number of recipes online, I decided on a very simple combination of ingredients: sausage, pork ribs, onions, and canned tomatoes.

It is very easy to make polenta. There are 2 types I recommend: Bramata and “instant” polenta. The former is firmer and takes about 45 minutes to cook, and I like it better. Instant polenta is still good, but it is less firm and takes about 8 minutes to cook.

Ingredients

For the Ragu:

  • 4 lbs. pork ribs.
  • 4 – 5 Italian sausages sliced in medallions.
  • 1 cup of white wine, preferably a pinot grigio.
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped.
  • 1 and ½ boxes of Pomï chopped tomatoes.
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed.
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
  • 1 handful of fresh Italian parsley (flat-leaf), minced.
  • a handful of fresh sweet basil leaves, for serving.
  • 1 – 2 Calabrian red peppers, minced.
  • ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese. You can also use Parmigiano, but I prefer the sharper, saltier flavor of Pecorino. Both are great.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Note: This recipe for ragu serves 8 people.  If you have four people, use 250 grams of polenta and save the rest of the ragu to be used as a pasta sauce.

For the Polenta:

  • 250 grams of polenta for 4 people; 500 grams of polenta for 8 people.
  • Water in a ratio of 4 to 1 (1000 ml of water for 250 grams of polenta; 2000 ml of water for 500 grams of polenta)
  • Salt to taste.

Preparation

Preparing the Ragu

  1. In a large pot (cast-iron or enamel pot best), combine the ribs, chopped sausages, 2 cloves of smashed garlic, the hot pepper, and olive oil to cover by about ¼ inch.  Brown the meat on one side, about 3-4 minutes.
  2. When you turn the meat over, add the chopped onion and the handful of minced parsley, and let it saute another 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add 1 cup of white wine. Turn down the heat to medium and allow the alcohol to evaporate.
  4. Add the 1 and ½ boxes of Pomï tomatoes to the pot, then add salt and pepper.  Stir well.
  5. Cover, and allow to cook on simmer/low heat for 3 – 4  hours.
  6. Remove the cover and stir. Allow some liquid to evaporate by continuing to cook on low/simmer to allow the liquid to reduce.
  7. Add a handful of fresh basil leaves about 15 minutes before you turn off the heat.

Preparing the Polenta

Both the Bramata and the instant polenta are prepared in the same way.

  1. 500 grams of polenta, which you will let slowly fall into 2  liters of simmering water with one handful of salt in a pot. The best pot is a Paiolo pan, which made of copper and has a wooden handle. As the polenta falls in the water, mix with a whisk. Keep mixing for a minute or two.
  2. Lower the heat, making sure the water does not boil, and keep mixing for a minute or two –lower the heat, be sure the water does not boil, then use a wooden spoon to continue to mix the water with the polenta,.
  3. Once the polenta falls from the side of the pot and becomes a ball in the center of the pot, it is ready (4Dr. Carbone prepares to serve polenta with ragu5 minutes) for the Bramata. For the instant polenta, after 8 minutes it is done, no matter what.

Serving the Ragu with the Polenta

  1. When the polenta is ready, pour it onto a large cutting board or serving dish, shaping it into a circle. Make an indentation in the center of the polenta, then pour the ragu onto the polenta.  Add the grated Pecorino cheese and serve.
  2. Buon appetito!

Suggestion: If you cook the polenta Bramata, be sure to have a friend in the kitchen who can take turns with you mixing the polenta—and yes, you should constantly mix the polenta, this is why lazy people invented the instant polenta!

Rigatoni with Baccalà and Mussels for 4 to 6 People (Rigatoni col Baccalà e Cozze)

By

On May 23, 2025

In Dr. Michele Carbone, Fish, Pasta Dishes

This is a phenomenal dish invented by my friends at Sora Lella, one of the best and most traditional Roman restaurants on the Isola Tiberina in the center of Roma.

Michele serves baccalà and mussels with rigatoni.

One of Sora Lella’s best recipes is the baccalà and mussel pasta.

Ingredients

  • 500 grams of Rigatoni for 4 – 6 people
  • 3 pounds of mussels (cozze 1.3 kg)
  • ¾ pound de-salted baccalà (400 grams)
  • ½ cup grated pecorino (the best aged Roman or Calabrian pecorino you can find). The amount of pecorino varies depending on how intense it is, for a very good one ½ cup (40 grams) is sufficient, for an average pecorino, one you need double that amount/
  • 4 green scallions, finely sliced
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • large clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 4 small sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 3 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1 cup of white wine
  • 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil, separated
  • 2 hot chopped red peppers (Calabrian preferred)
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

  1. In a large pot, start boiling the water for the pasta.
  2. Clean the mussels.
  3. Cover the bottom of a large pot with enough olive oil to cover the bottom (about 1/8 inch of oil, or 3 mm). Heat to high, and when the oil is hot, add the peeled garlic cloves. As soon as the garlic takes on a gold color, remove it.
  4. Immediately add the mussels to the hot oil, and cover. Once the noise of the frying mussels changes, it means the mussels have opened, which usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. Remove the cover, add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, mix well and add one cup of white wine. Cover the pot again and remove it after 1 minute. Allow the alcohol to evaporate for 30 seconds. Immediately remove the pot from the heat—do not overcook the mussels!As long as the mussels are open, they are fine. Add black pepper, mix well. Remove mussels from the pot but reserve the liquid.
  6. Remove about 5 whole mussels in their shells and reserve them in a medium sized bowl. For the rest of the mussels, remove the mussel from the shell and chop each mussel into about 4 pieces.
  7. In a small pot, add 1/3 of a cup of olive oil and the scallions cut in thin slices and after a few minutes add some water, say ¼ of cup, cook on low heat for about 7-10 minutes., add ¼ of cup of white wine, bring the heat to high for 1 min to let alcohol evaporate. Turn heat off and add this to the larger pot containing the mussels sauce turn on fire to medium.
  8. Throw the pasta in the hot water.
  9. Cut the Baccalà in strips and put it in the pot with the mussel sauce. Add the minced hot pepper, the chopped mussels, half of the zested lemon peel, 1 teaspoon of parsley, and the thyme. Let it cook on medium for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off. Let it rest.
  10. Cook the pasta. When the pasta is very al dente, say 2 minutes less the indicated cooking time on the box, drain it, reserving some of the water. Add the al dente pasta to the pot containing the Baccalà/mussel sauce. Bring up the heat to high and cook the combined sauce and pasta for about 3 to 5 minutes, gently mixing the pasta and sauce together to allow some of the sauce to absorb into the pasta.If the sauce seems too thick, you can add some of the reserved pasta water, but it should not be necessary.
  11. Take the pot from the hot burner, add the grated pecorino, the remaining lemon zest, and a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
  12. Put into the pasta bowls, decorating each plate with the 5 mussels reserved in Step 6.
  13. And now, as my friends at Sora Lella would say, enjoy this “poetry”!

 

Baccalà Soup for 4 – 6 people (Baccalà in Guazzetto)

By

On May 23, 2025

In Broths and Soups, Entrees, Fish

Baccalà is dried salted Atlantic Cod (merluzzo in Italian), not to be confused with stoccafisso which is dried (unsalted) cod.  Authentic cod should be made using Atlantic cod, merluzzo, but at times I have seen people sell other fish (such as black cod and lingcod) under this same name, so check.  Baccalà is traditionally served in Italy on Christmas Eve and Fridays during Lent.

Here are two outstanding recipes for Baccalà. Please note that you need to start preparing baccalà three days in advance in order to remove the salt flavor from the fish.

How to De-Salt Baccalà

When you buy baccalà, you need to remove the salt before you cook it.  This needs to be done three days in advance of cooking it.

  1. Put the filets of baccalà in a large container and rinse for about an hour under a faucet that continuously drips cold water on it.
  2. Place the container full of fresh water and the Baccalà in the refrigerator. Change the water every morning and evening It will be ready the evening of the third day.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. De-salted baccalà (500 grams)
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 2 hot red peppers (Calabrian preferred)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 2 – 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1/4 tsp dried Italian oregano (this has a different flavor than the dried spice you find in most grocery stores, look for the Italian dried oregano)
  • A handful of fresh Italian parsley, minced
  • Fresh Italian basil
  • 800 grams of peeled Italian peeled whole tomatoes (the best are home canned tomatoes)
  • 1 cup of dry white wine (remember to use a decent wine for any cooking), I used Pinot Grigio
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. In a large clay pot or Dutch oven (if you do not have a clay pot) place the de-salted baccalà filets with about ¼ of a cup of olive oil and thyme. Massage the thyme over the baccalà. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
  2. In a medium-large pot, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add the chopped red onion, 2 hot peppers, 2 peeled, smashed garlic cloves smashed, two tablespoons of chopped parsley, and about 10 whole leaves of basil. Cook on medium-high heat.
  3. Once the garlic starts to take color, add 1 cup of white wine. Cook for about a minute to allow the alcohol to evaporate, then add about 2 pounds (800 g) of canned whole Italian tomatoes (or your own canned tomatoes). Add 1 teaspoon of Italian oregano and 1 cup of cold water, one teaspoon of salt, lower the flame, and let it cook covered for 25 minutes.Uncover the pot while continuing to cook for another 5 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 325F.
  5. Add the sauce to the pot containing the baccalà filets, mix well, and put in the oven for 35 minutes.
  6. Serve with a crusty fresh bread.
  7. Buon appetito!

Note: This typical Roman dish often has pine nuts and raisins added at the end. I much prefer the soup without them, but if you like them, you can add them. Also rather than cooking the Baccalà in the oven you can cook on the stovetop on low heat.

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