Agnello in fricassea

Lamb in fricassee: a traditional Umbrian recipe typical of the Easter festivities.

Fricassee is a fascinating and ancient method of cooking a meat dish that has its roots in the Middle Ages. This recipe also called lamb “in golden sauce”, or “lamb bound with eggs” in older cooking treatises, gets its name fricassee from the French verb “fricasser”, which means to cook pieces of meat in a sauce.

After slow and thorough cooking, the dish is in fact completed with a cream made of egg yolks and lemon juice. Two ingredients that, in their simplicity, require the utmost care in their use to ensure the characteristic creaminess of the preparation and a result that is not ... a real omelette!

In the past, when the ban on meat consumption was strictly observed throughout the Lenten period, Easter lunch became the ideal occasion to bring to the table a meat dish, such as lamb, which, along with many other Easter foods, is symbolically linked to sacrifice and Resurrection.

A simple yet meaningful delicacy, the preparation of lamb in fricassee becomes a culinary experience that brings with it some of the culinary traditions associated with Umbrian Easter.

Heat the EVO oil in a pan together with the garlic clove and thinly sliced onion. Sauté over a medium flame for a few minutes and add the lamb. Sauté over a high flame, turning often, and when the meat is golden brown, deglaze with white wine and add salt and pepper.

At this point lower the heat and leave to cook for about 20-30 minutes (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat).

After this time, after checking that the meat is well cooked, finish the dish by adding the two eggs, already beaten together with the lemon juice and the pecorino cheese, to the mixture. Turn the lamb quickly and continuously so that the egg yolks can thicken while cooking slowly to give the typical creaminess of this dish.

To complete the dish, you can add some wild fennel and serve the lamb in fricassee still hot.