Italian Lamb

Lamb is hugely popular in Italy. Sheep farming sits mostly in central and southern Italy and on the islands. Here sheep cope well with steep, dry hillsides and thin grass where little else grows. For centuries, shepherds in Abruzzo walked their flocks down grass tracks called tratturi (sheep roads) to Puglia. The lamb dishes of the Apennines and the south grew out of that shepherding life. Almost half of Italy’s sheep live in Sardinia, so it is no surprise that lamb is very popular in this region too.

Italians love very young lamb. It’s called agnello da latte (milk-fed lamb. In Rome it is called abbacchio. These lambs drink only their mother’s milk and are slaughtered at about a month old. The meat is pale pink, mild and very tender, with little fat.

Two places protect the name with an official label. Abbacchio Romano must come from lambs born and raised in Lazio and killed at 28 to 40 days old. The carcass can weigh no more than 8 kg. Sardinia has its own agnello da latte, also fed on milk alone, which can go up to 8.5 kg. Milk-fed lamb belongs to spring, which is one reason it ends up on the Easter table.

However in the rest of Italy, lamb is generally known as just agnello.

Lamb Pairings

Garlic and rosemary are the classic partners for Italian lamb. In abbacchio alla romana, they go into the pan with sage, bay and white wine. The dish finishes with a sauce of anchovy, rosemary, garlic and vinegar. For scottadito, the grilled cutlets sit in olive oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon before they hit the heat. Both dishes use strong flavours that stand up to the meat without hiding it.

Sharp flavours help too. Vinegar, lemon and white wine add an edge, and they help the herbs and oil soak into the meat.

On the plate, potatoes are the usual side, roasted or steamed. In Rome, lamb also turns up with artichokes.