Name: Sugo di castrato (Lamb Sauce with Tomatoes and Hot Pepper)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary; 1 large yellow onion, chopped; 3 tablespoons chopped lardo or pancetta; 2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned), or ¼ cup tomato paste diluted in ½ cup water; 1 cup dry white wine; 1 pound ground lamb; ½ teaspoon chile pepper flakes, plus a tiny pinch (optional); light meat stock or water if needed; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 pound fresh pasta alla chitarra, fettuccine, or cheese ravioli, cooked; Grated pecorino cheese

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Italian Slow and Savory

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2004

About

This rich lamb sauce from the Abruzzo is traditionally served over pasta alla chitarra, which is shaped on a chitarra, a wooden frame strung with wires that calls to mind a guitar, thus the name. The pasta dough is rolled into a thin sheet, the sheet is laid over the wires, and then a rolling pin is used to push the dough through the wires, producing thin strands. Sugo di castrato may also be served over cheese-filled ravioli or layered in lasagna. If this sauce is made