Name: Fusilli con Sugo di Agnello (Spaghetti with Lamb Sauce)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ¾ cup dry white wine; 1½ pounds very lean lamb from the shoulder, organically raised, if possible; 3 to 4 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese; 1 small onion, minced (optional); 1½ pounds ripe tomatoes, 2 cups drained canned tomato pulp or Italian plum tomatoes, juices reserved, or 2 cups bottled organic tomato puree. See Source Guide to Ingredients.; 1 carrot, diced; 2 small garlic cloves, minced (optional); Salt and freshly ground black pepper; Salt; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 pound spaghetti; At least 4 quarts water; 1 to 1½ tablespoons coarse salt; 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh European variety; 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley; 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 small onion, finely minced

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

In Nonna's Kitchen

By Carol Field

Published 1997

About

Pasta with a lamb sauce is nourishing, filling, unexpectedly satisfying—dinner in a single course. The only difficulty with re-creating this dish from Molise—besides the fact that Italian lamb is flavored by the aromatic grasses and herbs it feeds on—is that an entire lamb in Molise is likely to weigh about 15 pounds, while the leg—only the leg—of an American lamb can weigh 6 pounds or more. To approximate the taste of the Italian meat, use extremely lean boneless lamb cut from the shoulder