Molise — lamb is the centerpiece of the Molisano Sunday table. The transhumance economy of the region, where shepherds moved their flocks between mountain summer pastures and coastal winter ones via the ancient tratturi, made lamb the primary meat of the region for millennia.
Molise is historically a sheep country — the great Apennine transhumance routes (tratturi) ran through the region for millennia, and lamb remains the dominant meat of the regional table. Agnello al forno con patate (roast lamb with potatoes) is the Sunday centrepiece across Molise: joints of young lamb (leg, shoulder) laid over a bed of quartered potatoes, sliced onion, garlic, rosemary, and white wine, then roasted in the oven until the lamb is cooked through, the potatoes have absorbed the lamb fat and wine juices, and the exposed surfaces are golden and slightly charred. It is the definitive one-pan roast of the southern Apennine tradition.
The roasted lamb develops a golden, slightly charred crust over tender, pink-centred meat; the potatoes beneath absorb the lamb fat and wine until they are rich, slightly crisp at the edges and yielding within. The garlic (which has roasted in its skin and becomes sweet and spreadable) and the rosemary perfume everything. It tastes of Sunday.
Young lamb (agnello — not montone, which is mature sheep) is essential; the flavour is entirely different. Score the lamb and insert slivers of garlic and sprigs of rosemary into the cuts. Season aggressively with salt, pepper, and olive oil. In the roasting pan, layer quartered waxy potatoes (not floury — they absorb fat better without dissolving), sliced white onion, whole garlic cloves unpeeled. Place the lamb on top. Add dry white wine and a splash of water to the pan. Roast at 200°C for the first 20 minutes, then reduce to 180°C for the remaining time (20-25 minutes per 500g for medium). Baste every 20 minutes. The potatoes should be golden and slightly crisp on their exposed edges, softened and fat-rich beneath.
The wine in the pan bottom prevents the potatoes from burning and adds acidity to the fat — without wine, the fat goes bitter. Add a sprig of fresh mint to the potatoes (a Molisano habit) — mint and lamb is one of the great pairings. Rest the lamb 15 minutes before carving; do not rest the potatoes — they lose their crunch.
Using floury potatoes — they disintegrate and absorb too much fat; waxy potatoes (Charlotte, Roseval, new potatoes) hold their structure. Not basting — the lamb fat that renders into the pan liquid is the basting medium; without basting, the potatoes don't develop colour. Cooking lamb straight from the refrigerator — it must be at room temperature before roasting, or the outside overcooks before the centre is done.
Slow Food Editore, Molise in Cucina; Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking