Mutton and Fregola Soup, Boiled Mutton and Vegetables

Name: Mutton and Fregola Soup, Boiled Mutton and Vegetables (Pecora in Cappotto con Fregola)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 brown onions, peeled and quartered; 1 × 2.5 kg shoulder mutton, cut into 14 pieces; salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 300 g fregola; extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling; 2 lemons, cut into cheeks; 4 kipfler potatoes, peeled and halved lengthways; 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, tops cut off, halved; 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 5 cm pieces; 3 stalks celery heart, cut into 5 cm pieces

Pecora in Cappotto con Fregola

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Sardinian Cookbook

By Giovanni Pilu and Roberta Muir

Published 2012

About

The name of this dish literally means ‘sheep in a coat’, as the meat is boiled under a ‘coat’ of potatoes and onions. Young lamb is never used, it’s always the older mutton, which has a stronger flavour and aroma... just the way Sardinians like it. This is a typical peasant dish where nothing goes to waste: once the meat is boiled, fregola is added to the cooking liquid to make a soup for the first course, then the mutton is eaten with the vegetables as a second course. You’ll need a stockp