Sardinian fregola with lamb

5 from 23 votes

Sardinian fregola with lamb is a unique recipe made with fregola, a pasta that is unique to Sardinia. In this traditional pasta dish, the lamb is cooked very simply without any spices or strong seasoning.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Sardinia

Keyword: authentic Italian pasta recipe, fregola, fregula, Italian food, Italian recipe, lamb, Sardinian recipe

Servings:

Calories: 733kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

1 kg lamb (2.2lbs) I used back chops ( see recipe notes below)
8-10 sun-dried tomatoes I used semi-dried tomatoes (see recipe notes below)
2 bay leaves
1 onion
½ glass white wine
1 lt lamb broth (4-5 cups) you can also use beef, veg or chicken broth
300 g fregola
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
pecorino romano grated (optional)

Instructions

Peel and chop the onion. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces (if using). Cut the lamb into small cubes, trimming most the fat as you go.
Heat some olive oil in a deep skillet and add the lamb and brown it on all sides over a medium heat.
Add the onion, bay leaves and sundried tomatoes and continue cooking over a medium heat until the onions have softened.
Add the white wine and once the alcohol has evaporated add 2 ladles of broth. Continue
cooking until the lamb is cooked through. About 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside. Remove the bay leaves then add half of the
remaining broth. Bring the broth to a boil and then add the fregola. Reduce the heat and cook the fregola as you would rice for a risotto. Stirring frequently and adding more stock if the sauce dries out. If you run out of stock, you can also use water.
When the fregola is cooked (about 15 minutes) add the lamb back to the skillet. Mix everything together well and cook for a couple of minutes so the lamb gets hot again and the fregola absorbs more of the lamb flavours.
Serve immediately with pecorino Romano if required.

Notes

Some people also make this dish with tomato passata or fresh peeled sauce tomatoes.You can choose to sub the sun-dried tomatoes with 500g peeled tomatoes or passata if you wish.

I used meaty back chops to make this recipe. I used the bones to make a simple broth beforehand. Other cuts of lamb such as fillet or leg would work too. Cooking times may need to be adjusted to make sure the lamb isn't under or overcooked.

Nutrition