Biba's Northern Italian Cooking - Biba Caggiano [47]
Trim all fat from lamb. Cut meat in 1½- to 2-inch cubes.
Press tomatoes through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds (see page 207).
Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add lamb. Sauté over medium heat until lamb is colored on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove lamb from skillet.
Discard all fat from skillet and add butter. When butter foams, add garlic and rosemary. Return lamb to skillet. Before garlic changes color, stir in wine and cook until wine is reduced by half. Add tomato pulp. Season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered 25 to 30 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.
ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY
Arrosto di Agnello con Aglio e Rosmarino
For medium-rare lamb, cook 12 to 13 minutes per pound.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 (5- to 6-pound) leg of lamb, trimmed of all extra fat
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 to 3 rosemary sprigs, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup dry white wine
Preheat oven to 400F (205C). Rinse lamb under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat oil in a large heavy Dutch oven or roaster over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and brown it on all sides. Turn off the heat. As soon as you can handle the lamb, rub it on all sides with garlic and rosemary, and season it with salt and pepper.
Return lamb to pan and roast in the oven, uncovered, 1 to 1½ hours depending on desired doneness; baste with the pan juices several times during cooking. If the meat sticks to pan during cooking, add a little of the white wine. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it sit about 5 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile put the pan over high heat and add the wine.With a wooden spoon scrape and loosen up the bits and pieces attached to the bottom of pan. Cook until the wine is reduced by half. Carve the lamb into thin slices, spoon a bit of pan juices over the lamb and serve at once.
Variation
About ½ hour before you remove the lamb from the oven, add some peeled potatoes, cut into large chunks, to the pan and mix them well with the pan juices. Serve them alongside the roasted lamb.
PORK AND RICOTTA ROLL WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO
Rifreddo Casalingo di Maiale e Ricotta
Rifreddi or galantine are meat-based preparations that are shaped into loaves or into rolls, poached or roasted and served at room temperature with or without cubes of flavored gelatin. These dishes could be as elegant or as homey as one wished. This simple version was a favorite of my mother.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Broth
1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 carrots, cut into medium rounds
2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 sprigs fresh parsley
1 cup dry white wine
Pork and Ricotta Roll
1 pound ground pork
½ pound ricotta
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten in a small bowl
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 slices prosciutto, approximately 6 ounces
Prepare broth: Fill a large pan halfway with water. Add onion, carrots, celery, parsley and wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer liquid uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Prepare roll: In a large bowl or in bowl of a mixer fitted with flat paddle, combine pork, ricotta, parsley, nutmeg, Parmigiano and egg. Season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands or with paddle until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Place on a work surface, lightly wet your hands and roll mixture back and forth into a 10-inch long, 2- to 3-inch-thick roll.
Place a large sheet of foil that can be wrapped around roll comfortably on a work area, or overlap 2 regular sheets of foil to make a large one. Arrange prosciutto slices in center of foil. With 2 large spatulas, transfer meat roll over prosciutto.Wrap prosciutto around roll and tie with kitchen string.
Wrap foil securely around roll, making sure it is tightly sealed on all sides, and