Fricassea di agnello is a slow cooked lamb chop dish from Italy’s Marche region. The chops are cooked with white wine, pancetta and onions until the meat falls off the bone. Then you finished with a sauce of raw egg yolk and lemon juice. The sauce needs no flour or cream or reduction, so it’s a great stew for those who cant eat gluten or dairy.
The egg and lemon finish belongs to a style called fricassea (stewed meat coated in egg and lemon off the heat). Italian cooks often make it for Easter. But this is also a good Autumn dish too. The most common recipes use diced shoulder or leg. Umbria and Liguria have their own versions, with different herbs and cuts.
But this fricassea di agnello recipe keeps whole loin chops instead, so each person gets a full chop on the plate. This also makes it easy to portion. Just make sure you choose a pan than fits the number of chops you choose.
The key to the sauce is to mix in the egg and lemon juice off the heat. Otherwise the egg will scramble. Once the sauce has thickened, it not only flavours the meat but acts as a tasty gravy for vegetables you serve it with. Try serving with Italian rosemary potatoes and sautéed broccoli.
Buon appetito! 🇮🇹
More Marche Recipes
- Le Marche Vincisgrassi – a layered baked pasta from Macerata with a slow-cooked meat ragù, béchamel and Parmesan.
- Spaghetti Mare e Monti – a quick pasta of squid and wild mushrooms in a white wine and cherry tomato sauce.
- Ragu alla Marchigiana – a slow-cooked meat sauce of beef, pork and chicken giblets with white wine and herbs.
Fricassea di agnello – Marche Lamb Chops with Egg and Lemon
Equipment
- Wide sauté pan with a lid, large enough for four chops in one layer
- Chopping board and knife
- Wooden Spoon
- Tongs
- Fine grater or Microplane
- Small bowl
- Fork or small whisk
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp lard (or 1 vegetable oil)
- 2 medium onions (finely chopped)
- 60 grams pancetta (cut into thin strips)
- 4 lamb loin chops
- 1 pinch nutmeg (freshly grated)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 250 ml dry white wine
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions
- Melt the lard in a hot pan, and cook the onion and pancetta over medium heat and cook until the onion turns pale gold.
- Add the chops in a single layer, turn the heat to medium-high and brown them well on both sides.
- Grate a tiny amount of nutmeg over the pan, then add salt and plenty of black pepper.
- Pour in the wine and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon while it simmers for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Lower the heat so the liquid barely simmers, then cover the pan with the lid.
- Cook for 1 to 1½ hours, until the lamb feels very soft when you prod it with a fork. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or stock if the liquid runs low.
- Beat the egg yolk and lemon juice together lightly in a small bowl, then take the pan off the heat for a few minutes then pour the mixture over the chops and turn them to coat both sides.
- Serve immediately with Italian rosemary potatoes and vegetables.
Notes
- Use any animal fat such as lard, or duck fat. But vegetable or olive oil would also work.
- The yolk cooks only from the heat of the chops and pan, so take the pan off the heat before adding it to avoid scrambling the egg.
