Easter tables have many foods in common, chiefly eggs and lamb, which both symbolize the rebirth and renewal of life. They're eaten in any number of dishes. But we’re going to focus on the lamb. Lamb is on many Easter tables each year, which isn’t surprising since the animal is typically born in spring. While there are few things as impressive as bringing a whole leg of lamb to the table, for many, it is simply too much food, or you want something different. If you’d like to celebrate the holiday, or simply the appearance of spring with lamb, why not make this traditional Sicilian pasta sauce of lamb and peas?
In this traditional dish from the Sicilian kitchen of Signora Di Gregorio, my dear Angeli Chef Kathy’s mom, the triad of butter, peas, and rosemary creates an indefinable flavor that sends you back for more and more. The peas are braised along with the lamb, and forsake their bright green color on the way, permeating the sauce with their savory sweetness. Each year, Chef Kathy made this dish as a special. It always received kudos. People were so surprised. And no one, it appeared, ever had a pasta sauce like it. The dish seemed so simple and wasn’t beautiful, and so is in the “ugly delicious” vein. Yet there was something about the way the ingredients came together with the lamb to make a dish of stunning synergy. You may be tempted to add tomatoes to the sauce. Don’t do it. Kathy always made a simple tomato sauce with onions to add extra sweetness, but served it on the side to be added at the table. I never did.
It’s basically a braise of lamb cut into small pieces, then cooked with onion and garlic in butter and olive oil, a couple of small rosemary sprigs, and white wine. Peas are added. If you’re using fresh, they are added halfway through the cooking time, while frozen are added toward the end. You want the peas to still hold their shape. I think fresh peas are best because they add their flavor as they cook with the other ingredients.
There are several variations of agnello e piselli, of course. Most recipes start with olive oil, not butter. Often the rosemary is omitted, which I consider a mistake since it adds to the synergy. Some people add artichoke hearts or well-trimmed artichokes, which I think must be delicious. But the biggest variation is to finish the dish “alla cacio e uova,” or with a mixture of beaten eggs and pecorino (some use parmigiano). The mixture is poured over the finished braise and mixes along with the juices to become more creamy.
Signora Di Gregorio’s Lamb and Peas
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and put through garlic press
- 2 pounds boneless leg of lamb cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 cups shelled fresh peas or 1 10-ounce package frozen peas
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pound high-quality linguine
- 1 recipe sweet tomato sauce
- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
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Melt the butter and extra-virgin olive oil together in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion and garlic, and slowly fry over moderate heat until the onion wilts. Add the lamb and sauté on high heat until well-seared on all sides.
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Add the rosemary and white wine. Adjust the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot. Cook for 45 minutes or until the lamb is half-cooked. If you are using especially young, fresh lamb, check the boneless after a half hour.
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Add the peas, salt, and pepper. Cover and continue simmering until lamb is so tender that it begins to fall apart. If you need to add more liquid, add a quarter to a half cup of hot water. The peas should be well-cooked but still hold their shape.
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Cook the linguine in abundant boiling salted water until al dente. Heat the sweet tomato sauce, and put it in a little bowl or gravy boat for the table. Drain the pasta and place it in individual serving dishes.
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Pour a generous spoonful of lamb sauce over each serving. Top with a small spoonful of sweet tomato sauce if desired. Pass the Parmigiano Reggiano.
Sweet Tomato Sauce
Aromatic vegetables, especially the carrot and onion, add sweetness to this sauce, which plays beautifully off the lamb and peas. You can use it atop stuffed pastas, in lasagne, or on a simple dish of spaghettini.
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- ½ small onion, peeled and minced
- 1 small celery stalk, minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and minced
- 6 large red ripe tomatoes or 12 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped or 1 28-ounce can imported Italian tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
- 2-3 fresh basil leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are somewhat tender, approximately 10 minutes.
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Add the tomatoes, and continue to cook over moderate heat until they give up their juice and begin to thicken. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. When the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, remove it from the heat, and pass it through the coarse blade of a food mill.
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Use on pasta or along with the lamb and peas sauce.