Abbacchio a Scottadito

Rome's beloved spring lamb: small milk-fed lamb cutlets marinated with rosemary, garlic, and olive oil, then grilled hard over coals until charred outside and pink within, eaten hot in the fingers, the name meaning 'burn the fingers' for the impatience they provoke

Origin: Rome and Lazio, Italy

From the journey of Rosemary.

Abbacchio is the milk-fed spring lamb of Lazio, a protected product and the great Roman Easter meat, and a scottadito is its simplest and most cherished preparation: the cutlets marinated with rosemary, garlic, and olive oil and grilled fiercely over wood or charcoal. The name, 'a scottadito', means 'to burn the fingers', a frank acknowledgement that nobody waits for them to cool, that they are snatched hot from the grill and eaten with the hands, the little bone a built-in handle. Rosemary is the defining herb, the Roman partner to lamb as it has been since antiquity, its resin cutting the sweet fat of the young meat. Charred, smoky, and fragrant, abbacchio a scottadito is the taste of a Roman spring.

Ingredients

Lamb

  • 12 lamb cutlets (rib chops), French-trimmed, flattened slightly

Marinade

  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper

To serve

  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Lay the cutlets between two sheets of greaseproof paper and beat them gently with a rolling pin to flatten the eye of meat a little, so they cook quickly and evenly.
  2. Mix the olive oil, chopped rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Rub all over the cutlets, cover, and marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
  3. Heat a barbecue, griddle pan, or grill until very hot. Shake the excess marinade off the cutlets so the garlic does not burn.
  4. Grill the cutlets for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until charred and crisp outside but still pink and juicy at the centre.
  5. Pile onto a warm platter, scatter with a little more salt and fresh rosemary, and serve at once with lemon wedges, and a tangle of bitter greens or roast potatoes alongside.

Notes

The dish depends on good young lamb and a fierce heat; nothing else is needed. A squeeze of lemon at the table cuts the richness. Serve with cicoria ripassata (bitter greens sautéed with garlic and chilli) for the full Roman trattoria experience, or with patate arrosto al rosmarino. The same marinade is excellent on a butterflied leg of lamb for the barbecue.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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