P
Italian · Sardinia
Agnello Arrosto con Carciofi alla Sarda
Roasted lamb shoulder with Sardinian globe artichokes (carciofi di Sardegna, smaller and more tender than the Roman variety) — a springtime preparation central to Sardinian Easter traditions. The artichokes are trimmed, halved, and added to the roasting pan around the lamb in the final 40 minutes, basting in the lamb's rendered fat. The combination of lamb fat absorbed into the artichoke's leaves and the artichoke's bitterness tempering the lamb's richness is the defining flavour balance. Wild mint (mentuccia) is used as the herb in the Sardinian tradition.
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I
The Market List
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1.6 kg
lamb shoulder
bone-in, skin scored at 2 cm intervals
Your own market
8
young Sardinian globe artichokes (carciofi di Sardegna)
trimmed, halved, stems peeled of outer fibres
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 small bunch
wild mint (mentuccia sarda)
rubbed into the scored skin before roasting
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
100 ml
Cannonau di Sardegna
added to the roasting pan
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
olive oil
Your own market
to season
fine sea salt
Your own market
to season
black pepper
freshly ground
Your own market
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II
The Method
1
Score the lamb shoulder across the skin at 2 cm intervals, cutting into the fat layer but not through to the meat. Rub wild mint (mentuccia sarda) into the scored cuts. Season the surface with fine sea salt and black pepper. Allow the lamb to rest at room temperature while the oven heats to 220 °C. The scored skin will be visibly open, and the herb scent should be evident.
2
Set the lamb shoulder skin-side up in a heavy roasting pan. Roast at 220 °C for 20 minutes. This initial high heat is where the dish lives or dies: the fat must begin to render freely through the scored skin before the temperature is reduced — insufficient rendering at this stage means the artichokes will not have enough rendered fat to cook in and the defining flavour exchange between lamb fat and artichoke cannot occur. The fat should be visibly bubbling and beginning to pool in the pan.
3
Reduce the oven to 180 °C. Add the Cannonau di Sardegna to the roasting pan. Continue roasting, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until the lamb has been in the oven for a total of approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from the start. The pan juices should be bright and the lamb skin deep golden.
4
Forty minutes before the end of the total roasting time, arrange the trimmed and halved artichokes cut-side down around the lamb in the pan. They will cook in the rendered lamb fat, not in water. After 40 minutes the artichoke edges in contact with the pan should be visibly charred at the margins; the inner leaves should yield at once to a knife point.
5
Transfer the lamb to a board and the artichokes to a warm dish. Rest the lamb, loosely covered, for 15 minutes — large joints lose significant moisture if carved immediately. The surface should feel firm but give slightly under pressure after resting.
6
Strain the pan juices into a small jug, discarding any solids. Carve the lamb and arrange on a platter with the artichokes. Pour the strained pan juices over at the table. The charred artichoke edges are the most flavourful part; they are not discarded.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Milk-fed Sardinian lamb (abbacchio sardo), young Sardinian carciofi from a small producer, and estate-bottled Cannonau di Sardegna; mentuccia sarda gathered wild.
02
Estate — Grass-fed lamb shoulder from a named regional producer; small, tight Sardinian or equivalent young globe artichokes; a labelled Cannonau di Sardegna from a cooperative.
03
Market — Good-quality lamb shoulder from a butcher who can confirm the animal's youth; the smallest globe artichokes available at a well-stocked market; a dry Sardinian or southern Italian red wine in place of Cannonau.
04
House — Standard supermarket lamb shoulder, scored at home; baby artichokes in place of Sardinian carciofi; any light, dry red wine; dried mentuccia or a small quantity of mild fresh mint used with restraint.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Fat bubbles freely in the pan and pools beneath the lamb at the end of the 220 °C phase — rendering is complete enough to proceed.
◇Sight. Artichoke cut edges in contact with the pan are charred at the margins and golden-brown across the face after 40 minutes.
◇Touch. A knife point meets no resistance when pressed into the thickest artichoke leaf — the vegetable is cooked through.
◇Smell. Wild mint scent rises distinctly from the pan alongside the lamb fat — the herb has infused from within during roasting.
◇Where it lives or dies. The lamb must render its fat freely through the scored skin at 220 °C in the first 20 minutes; without that pool of rendered fat in the pan, the artichokes cannot absorb the lamb's richness and the defining bitterness-and-fat balance of the dish is lost.
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VI
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