Coratella is the heart, lungs, and liver of a young lamb, and if you buy them in an Italian supermarket, the organs are generally still attached together. The cut is an extremely traditional holdover from the days when the majority of people were too poor to be able to afford richer cuts such as chops or a leg of lamb, and though it's still quite cheap, you'll now find it in elegant restaurants too. To serve 4:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- The organs from two lambs
- 8 artichokes, cleaned and quartered (see link to instructions of need be)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- The juice of a large lemon
- 2/5 cup dry white wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Prepare the artichokes. Add 3/4 of the lemon juice to a bowl of water and put the sliced artichokes in it to keep them from discoloring.
Pick over the coratella, trimming away fat and removing, if you want, the trachea and major blood vessels. Divide it into heart, lungs, and liver, and slice the three meats fairly finely.
Heat the olive oil in a pot. Drain the artichokes and add them to the pot; cook, stirring over a moderate flame. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add a half inch of water to the pot, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the sliced lung to the artichokes and cook ten more minutes, adding a little more hot water if need be to keep the pot from drying out. Add the heart and sprinkle the wine into the pot. Simmer 10 minutes more and add the liver. Continue simmering for 4-5 more minutes, add the remaining lemon juice, and serve at once with a light red wine.
A variation, from a friend:
Pick over the coratella, trimming away fat and removing, if you want, the trachea and major blood vessels. Divide it into heart, lungs, and liver, and slice the three meats fairly finely.
Heat the olive oil in a pot. Drain the artichokes and add them to the pot; cook, stirring over a moderate flame. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add a half inch of water to the pot, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the sliced lung to the artichokes and cook ten more minutes, adding a little more hot water if need be to keep the pot from drying out. Add the heart and sprinkle the wine into the pot. Simmer 10 minutes more and add the liver. Continue simmering for 4-5 more minutes, add the remaining lemon juice, and serve at once with a light red wine.
A variation, from a friend:
- Take the coratella from one or two animals, and slice it.
- Next, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, and sauté the leaves of a sprig of rosemary and several crushed garlic cloves (some minced, and some not) until the garlic is golden.
- Add the lung and the heart and cook, stirring, for a minute. Next add a half cup of dry white wine. Check seasoning and cook until the wine is mostly evaporated, before adding the liver. Cook another 6-8 minutes, adding a little hot water if need be to keep the meat from drying out, and it's ready. Very simple peasant food at its flavorful finest.
