Lamb with egg and cheese sauce


Serving lamb with an egg sauce is a classical tradition is some parts of Italy, and this recipe originates from Abruzzo, just east of Lazio.

In the original recipe, the lamb is rather quickly sautéed in a skillet, then whole eggs are mixed with cheese and cooked with the lamb at the last minute. The result is often lamb with scrambled eggs, and is not very appetizing.

Rather than doing this, I preferred making a savory version of a sabayon, a soft, silky sauce that turned out to be quite delicious and kept a sauce consistency. Now, there are a few tricks to making a successful sabayon, savory or sweet. First, the water must be simmering, not boiling, and the bowl containing the eggs must not touch the water. Second, you must whisk the egg yolks until they are light and pale yellow before you put them over the hot water. Third, when cooking the sauce over the simmering water, always turn your bowl and whisk vigorously and constantly to prevent the sauce from curdling.

Agnello Cacio e Uova is traditionally served with chicory, here curly endive, quickly blanched in salted water, then sautéed in olive oil with garlic. A delightful and elegant Sunday night dinner.

Agnello cacio e uova

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: intermediate
  • Print

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
450 g cubed lamb, 2 cm pieces (from the shoulder)
1 glass dry white wine
chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper

For the sauce:

4 egg yolks
4 tablespoons dry white wine
4 tablespoons water
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese
pepper

Method:

  1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil until golden all over, then discard.
  2. Add the lamb cubes, salt and pepper, and cook until the meat has browned well, stirring constantly.
  3. Add the wine, let it come to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to the lowest setting possible, and let simmer, adding a bit of broth now and then to prevent from sticking, until the meat is tender, about 60-90 minutes.
  4. When the lamb is almost ready, make the sauce. Have a pot with simmering (not boiling) water over the heat. In a bowl, off the heat, whisk the egg yolks until smooth and light yellow, then add the wine and water and whisk everything together.
  5. Transfer the bowl over the simmering water and continue to whisk vigorously, non-stop, until the sauce takes form and is quite thick. This will take about 5 minutes.
  6. Take off the pot with water, add the cheese and pepper and serve immediately over the lamb, on warm plates. Serve with chicory that has been blanched, then sautéed in olive oil with a bit of garlic.

Agnello cacio e uova

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