Tianu di Agnello — Corsican Lamb Tianu Braise

Ingredients

• 1.6 kg bone-in Corsican mountain lamb, cut into bone-in pieces
• 60 g Porcu Nustrale lard, for rendering
• 250 ml Corsican red wine, Patrimonio or Ajaccio AOC; quantity to come halfway up the meat
• 4 cloves Allium sativum (garlic), whole or lightly crushed
• 400 g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 branch Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), fresh
• 1 branch fresh Mentha (mint), fresh
• 1 branch Nepita (Calamintha nepeta), placed inside the tianu for maquis-herb note
• For the seal
• 150 g plain flour, mixed with water to form a stiff paste
• 60 ml water, combined with flour to form sealing paste

Method

1. 1
   Heat the terracotta tianu over low heat on the stove or in the oven at 150 °C to warm the vessel gently. In a separate heavy pan, render the Porcu Nustrale lard over medium-high heat until the fat runs clear and the pan is hot.
2. 2
   Working in batches, brown the bone-in lamb pieces in the rendered lard on all sides. Do not crowd the pan. The lamb is ready when each surface is a deep, even mahogany and the meat releases cleanly from the pan.
3. 3
   Transfer the browned lamb to the terracotta tianu. Add the garlic, ripe tomatoes, rosemary, mint, and the branch of Nepita. Pour in the Corsican red wine — liquid must reach halfway up the meat, no higher. This is the point at which the dish lives or dies: too much liquid produces a boiled result; too little will scorch. The balance of wine to meat, the clay vessel, and the unbroken seal together determine the final dish.
4. 4
   Mix the flour and water to a stiff, pliable paste. Set the lid on the tianu and press the paste firmly around the entire joint between lid and vessel, forming a continuous, unbroken rope of dough that seals all steam inside. The seal is correct when no gap can be felt by running a finger around the rim.
5. 5
   Place the sealed tianu in the oven at exactly 150 °C. Bake for 3 hours without opening, without lifting the lid, and without raising the temperature. The dish must not be disturbed during this period. At the close of 3 hours the flour seal will be dry and firm, and a concentrated, herb-laden aroma will be perceptible at the oven door.
6. 6
   Bring the sealed tianu directly to the table. Remove the flour crust at the table — it is broken and discarded there, not in the kitchen. On opening, the vapour should carry a dominant maquis-herb perfume; the braising liquid should be dark mahogany; and the meat should be falling from the bone at the lightest pressure. Any pale liquid or firm meat indicates the seal failed or the temperature was insufficient.