P
Italian · Molise highlands
Agnello alla Molisana con Funghi e Tartufo
Molise's celebration lamb with wild mushrooms and black truffle — a mountain dish that epitomises the region's position between Abruzzo's Apennines and the Campanian coastal influence. Lamb cutlets or leg braised with mixed wild mushrooms (porcini, ovoli, chanterelle depending on season), white wine, and shaved black truffle from Molise's own foraging grounds. The truffle is added at two points: finely sliced into the braise for depth, and thin slices laid over the lamb at service. Molise black truffle is less aromatic than Norcia but earthier.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.2 kg
young lamb
under 12 months; cut into bone-in cutlets or bone-in pieces
Your own market
400 g
mixed wild mushrooms
porcini, ovoli, or chanterelle according to season; cleaned and torn into large pieces, not sliced
Your own market
30 g
dried porcini
rehydrated in warm water; soaking water strained and reserved
Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →
200 ml
Tintilia di Molise red wine
or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo as substitute
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
Molise black truffle
20 g finely shaved for the braise; remainder in thin slices for service
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
unsalted butter
cold; added off heat to finish
Your own market
2 tbsp
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
1 tsp
fine sea salt
Your own market
To serve
300 g
farro
cooked as a pilaf
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Season the lamb pieces with fine sea salt. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed braising vessel over a medium-high flame, then brown the lamb on all sides until a deep golden crust forms — because that crust, and the fond it leaves on the base of the pan, will give the braise its backbone of flavour throughout the long cook. The colour of that fond is your confirmation the sear is complete.
2
Lift out the lamb and set aside. Add the torn wild mushrooms and the drained rehydrated porcini to the same vessel over medium heat, cooking until they surrender their moisture and that liquid largely evaporates — so you concentrate their woodland depth rather than stewing them pale and waterlogged. The pan will smell of deep, earthy forest when the mushrooms are ready.
3
Return the lamb to the vessel, pour in the Tintilia, and scrape up every trace of fond from the base, then add the strained porcini soaking water. Bring the liquid to a bare tremor — not a rolling boil — and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting, cover, and braise gently, so the delicate aromatics of both the lamb and the truffle you will add later are not driven off by aggressive heat. The surface of the liquid should barely shiver throughout.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies: in the final 20 minutes of braising, shave 20 g of the Molise black truffle directly into the braise, because the truffle's volatile perfume dissipates quickly under heat and, added any earlier, it will be lost entirely to the steam. You will notice the braise rise perceptibly in earthy scent — that lift of truffle married to the lamb and mushroom confirms the timing is right.
5
When the lamb is tender and yielding at the bone — pressing a piece gently against the side of the vessel, it should give without resistance — remove the pan from the heat. Add the cold butter and swirl or stir to gloss the sauce, because truffle perfume carries and lingers far better suspended in fat than in a thin, lean liquid. The sauce should coat a spoon with a gentle, even sheen.
6
Plate the lamb over farro pilaf and lay the remaining thin slices of Molise black truffle across the lamb at service, so they warm gently from the heat of the dish beneath without cooking further and losing their raw, aromatic edge. Their pale, earthy perfume rising from the plate signals the dish is ready to serve.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Freshly foraged Molise black truffle, season-peak wild mushrooms (ovoli or porcini at full flush), and milk-fed lamb under 12 months from a named highland flock; Tintilia di Molise from a single estate.
02
Estate — Fresh Molise or Umbrian black truffle, a seasonal mix of porcini and chanterelle from a trusted supplier, young lamb from a known regional producer; estate-bottled Tintilia or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
03
Market — Fresh black truffle of any reputable Central Italian provenance, cultivated porcini supplemented with dried porcini, good-quality young lamb from a butcher; a sound Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
04
House — Dried or jarred black truffle (added only at finish with extra butter to compensate), dried porcini as the mushroom base, any mild young lamb; any dry Italian red wine of moderate body.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The lamb is deeply and evenly bronzed on all sides after the initial sear; the fond at the base of the pan is dark gold, not grey.
◇Smell. After the mushrooms cook down, the pan rises with a deep woodland-earth scent confirming moisture has driven off and flavour has concentrated.
◇Sight. Throughout the braise the surface of the liquid barely trembles — never a full boil — confirming the heat is gentle enough to preserve delicate aromatics.
◇Smell. When the truffle is shaved into the braise in the final 20 minutes, a perceptible lift of earthy truffle perfume rises from the pot, confirming the aromatics are intact.
◇Touch. The lamb is done when a piece pressed gently against the side of the vessel yields without resistance — tender at the bone throughout.
◇Sight. After the butter is incorporated off heat, the sauce coats the back of a spoon with an even, glossy sheen.
◇Where it lives or dies. The truffle must enter the braise in the final 20 minutes only — added earlier, its volatile aromatics dissipate entirely and the dish loses its defining character.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
2023 seven stars VEGA
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery · Naramata Bench
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery · Penticton →Sparkling wine
Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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