Abbacchio a scottadito is a typical Easter recipe from Lazio. The lamb chops will be tender and tasty thanks to the cooking tips below. This heavenly delicious snack also known as Roman-style abbacchio, is a real institution in kitchens not only in Lazio but throughout Italy.
They are called “scottadito”(finger burning) because they should be eaten very hot to enjoy their tenderness and, and at the same risking burning your fingers in the process. If you have the opportunity to organize a barbecue on Easter day, try these wonderful appetizers out!
4 persons
Cooking time : 1 hrs. 30 min.
3-4 persons (appetizer)
1 (7 bone) rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 squig of fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic
Salt
Black pepper
1 lemon
Cooking time: 20 min.
Cut the rack along the bones so you get one cutlet per bone. Rinsing the lamb chops and pat them dry with kitchen paper, then beat them with a meat mallet if they are too thick.
Arrange them on a plate or tray and rub them with the garlic that was split in two, and leave the garlic on the meat itself. Salt and pepper the meat.
Put the olive oil in a small bowl, dip the sprig of rosemary in it and brush the meat with it. Sprinkle the meat with any left over oil salt and pepper the cutlets. Pick the rosemary needles from the stick and leave on the cutlets. If possible, let the meat marinate for 20-30 minutes.
boil w the salt, a pinch of nutmeg and a third the butter
Add the semolina flour slowly, while whipping vigorously with a whisk, to prevent it from lumping.
Cook the mixture over low heat for a few minutes, until it has thickened, then remove the pot from the heat
Add the two egg yolks to the mix mixing this time with a wooden spoon. Add the cheese and mix again.
Now pour the still boiling mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and flatten it out to a thickness of around 1,5 cm/half inch. And flatten it out evenly with another parchment paper on top, creating an even surface. (Be careful not to get your fingers burned in the process!)
Let the mixture cool down.
When cooled down, take a glass, cup or biscuit cutter with a diameter of around 7 cm and cut out as many 1,5 cm thick circular dumplings.
The dumplings are placed in a greased baking dish, layered and overlapping each other topped with the rest of the cheese and the rest of the butter that has been melted. Put into the oven under the grill until golden brown and bubbling.
Serve hot as a hearty starter or side dish
Remember to take the ribs out of the fridge about 1 hour before cooking them
Before putting them to cook, dry the ribs well with kitchen paper, to remove both the water and any bone chips that may have ended up when the butcher cut them.
To prevent them from sticking, while the plate or pan is heating up, lightly grease them with oil.
Put the ribs to cook only when the pan or plate is very hot, it is perfectly OK if the cutlets get some nice brown burned marks.
There are many versions of this dish. With parslet drizzled over them after cooking them, just plain without garlic and rosemary, only seasoned with salt and pepper.
