Great Lamb Dish from Italy's Le Marche Region

I made a mostly Italian dinner tonight, including my first dish from Italy's Le Marche region. The meal turned out really good, but was a lot more work than I had expected, for a couple of reasons explained below. There were three dishes:
- The main dish was Agnello 'ncip 'nciape - Lamb chunks with olives
- The salad was hearts of palm with lots of other goodies
- The dessert was a typical ambrosia fruit salad, but with fresh plums and without the coconut.

The salad and dessert were very fast and easy to prepare. The lamb dish took time, but was very easy to do and well worth the effort.

Agnello 'ncip 'nciape (pronounced nchip nchoppay - from the sound of the lamb as it's cooking)

This dish is a Lidia Bastianich recipe from Le Marche, an Italian region which is in central Italy. Its western border is with Umbria and its eastern border is the Adriatic. The dish was terrific and it does not have many ingredients. However, there were two things that slowed me down:
1. The recipe calls for boneless lamb shoulder or leg cut into chunks. Unfortunately, my local Publix only had lamb chops with the bone in. So it took me a while to cut up the lamb.
2. The recipe also calls for a cup and a half of crushed and pitted Italian olives. I bought whole Italian cerignola olives, which I love and which worked perfectly with this dish. It took me a while to cut up all of the olives.

Cooking the dish is very easy. I love it and will make it again.

The recipe, which is available at http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/1000 is:

This is one of those delicious dishes that are complex in taste but easy in preparation. In Le Marche it is made with lamb and Ascolane olives, because that is what the land provides, but it could be made with other green olives; black olives such as taggiasche or Gaeta, would be fine, too. As in the recipe for Chicken with Olives and Pine Nuts, the simple pan-cooking method used here is typical of Le Marche. Try preparing other meats, such as beef or pork, the same way-keeping in mind that the cooking time will vary-and the results will be excellent. And though lamb shoulder is delicious and economical, more expensive lamb would be extraordinary prepared in the same style. This dish is good any time of year, too. In the winter, serve it with polenta and braised bitter greens such as broccoli rabe; in summer, a tossed green salad would go nicely.

Ingredients
3½ pounds boneless lamb shoulder or leg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
7 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste (I used chili pepper)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, leaves, stripped from the branch
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1½ cups brine-cured green Italian olives, crushed and pitted
Directions

Trim the exterior fat from the lamb shoulder or leg, and cut the meat into 2-inch pieces, removing fat and bits of cartilage as you find them. Pat the pieces dry with paper towels, and season all over with 1 teaspoon of the salt.

Pour the olive oil into the pan, and set it over medium heat. Scatter in the crushed garlic cloves and peperoncino. When the garlic is sizzling, lay in all the lamb pieces in one layer, scatter the rosemary on top, and season with the remaining teaspoon salt. When the meat starts to sizzle, cover the pan, lower the heat, and let cook gently, browning slowly and releasing its fat and juices.

After about 10 minutes, uncover the pan, turn the pieces, and move them around the pan to cook evenly, then replace the cover. Turn again in 10 minutes or so, and continue covered cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the lamb is nicely browned all over and the pan juices have thickened and caramelized. If there is a lot of fat in the bottom of the pan, tilt the skillet and spoon off the fat from one side.

Stir the wine and vinegar together, and pour them into skillet, swirling them with the pan juices. Turn up the heat, bring the liquids to a boil, and cook them down quickly to form a syrupy sauce. Drop the olives into the pan, all around the lamb chunks, then cover and adjust the heat to a bubbling simmer. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, again concentrating the juices and marrying the flavors. Finally, cook uncovered for a few minutes, tumbling the meat and olives in the pan, coating them with the sauce.

Serve immediately, right from the skillet, or heap the meat chunks on a platter or in a shallow serving bowl. Spoon out any sauce and olives left in the pan, and drizzle over the lamb.

(Cuori di Palma con Prosciutto Cotto, Bocconcini ed Olive)

The salad is allegedly Italian. It is from a New York cooking school called rusticocooking.com. Whether or not it is authentic is not important. It tastes great. The main ingredients are hearts of palm, mozzarella, romaine lettuce, olives, cherry tomatoes, prosciutto, and a simple home made dressing.

The recipe, which is available at http://www.rusticocooking.com/vegetables.htm#pizzaiolasalad

is:

This colorful salad can be embellished with toasted pine nuts or slivered radicchio if you like.

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
• 1 can (15 ounces) hearts of palm, drained, rinsed, and thinly sliced
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 12 pitted black olives
• 1/2 pound bocconcini (fresh Mozzarella balls), thinly sliced
• 8 thin slices Prosciutto Cotto, rolled into spirals

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano; set this dressing aside.
Arrange the Romaine, hearts of palm, tomatoes, olives, bocconcini, and Prosciutto Cotto on 4 plates.
Drizzle with the dressing and enjoy. Serves 4

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

The ambrosia fruit salad was typical and incredibly easy to make. As I mentioned above, I left out the coconut and added fresh plums. It was terrific with the plums.

It is available at: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Ambrosia-Salad-Allrecipes and is:

Source: AllRecipes Rating: none

Ingredients Serves: 4 11 oz mandarin oranges (drained) 8 oz pineapple chunks (drained) 1 cup miniature marshmallows 1 cup  flaked coconut 1 cup sour cream Directions  In a large bowl, combine the oranges, pineapple, marshmallows and coconut. Add sour cream and toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Hearts of Palm Salad with Prosciutto Cotto, Bocconcini, and Olives