Friuli Venezia Giulia is in many ways distinct from the rest of Italy: tomato is much less popular, and one encounters cinnamon and other spices that are perhaps more common in Mittel-European cooking. The region was, after all, long an Austro-Hungarian province. To serve 4:
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 65 minutes
Ingredients:
- A leg of lamb weighing 2 pounds (900 g)
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and squashed
- 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
- A 3-ounce slice of pancetta, diced
- 1 pint (500 ml) beef broth (unsalted canned will be fine)
- 1/3 cup tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Salt and pepper
- Potatoes (as a side dish, to be boiled separately)
Preparation:
Using a sharp knife, make deep crosswise cuts in the leg, separating them by about an inch (2.5 cm).
Melt the butter in a casserole and brown the pancetta; when it has colored add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are golden too. Add the meat and brown it too. Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and sprinkle the tomato sauce and the broth over the meat; reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the meat for an hour.
In the meantime, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until a skewer penetrates easily. Keep them warm.
When the meat is cooked, remove it to a platter and reduce the drippings over a brisk flame, stirring them lest they stick and burn. Spoon them over the meat, and serve it with the potatoes, peeled and sliced. Another option, in addition to potatoes, would be polenta.
The wine? A red, and Colli Orientali del Friuli has many I might go with a Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, which offers a nice change of pace from Cabernet or Merlot (which they also make, and which is also good).
Melt the butter in a casserole and brown the pancetta; when it has colored add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are golden too. Add the meat and brown it too. Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and sprinkle the tomato sauce and the broth over the meat; reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the meat for an hour.
In the meantime, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until a skewer penetrates easily. Keep them warm.
When the meat is cooked, remove it to a platter and reduce the drippings over a brisk flame, stirring them lest they stick and burn. Spoon them over the meat, and serve it with the potatoes, peeled and sliced. Another option, in addition to potatoes, would be polenta.
The wine? A red, and Colli Orientali del Friuli has many I might go with a Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, which offers a nice change of pace from Cabernet or Merlot (which they also make, and which is also good).
