058Lamb fricassee with lettuce

Method

Classic springtime cos lettuce version. Serve in shallow bowls with plenty of crusty sourdough bread to mop up the avgolemono sauce.

You will need

• wide heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
• whisk
• soup ladle
• mixing bowl

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, add the lamb pieces, and brown lightly on all sides without creating a dark crust. 8 min Ready when: lamb is lightly coloured and fragrant
2. Stir in the chopped yellow onion and spring onions, cooking gently for about 4 minutes until softened and translucent. 4 min Ready when: onions are soft and sweet
3. Pour in the warm water, salt, and black pepper, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 45 minutes until the lamb is almost tender. 45 min Ready when: meat yields easily to the tip of a knife
4. Add the torn lettuce in handfuls, pressing it down into the pot as it wilts, then scatter the chopped dill over the top. 3 min Ready when: lettuce collapses into the simmering broth
5. Cover the pot again and simmer for 15 minutes until the lettuce is soft and fully cooked down, then remove the pot completely from the heat. 15 min Ready when: pot has ceased bubbling and greens are tender
6. To prepare the avgolemono, whisk the eggs vigorously in a medium bowl until frothy, then slowly stream in the lemon juice while continuing to whisk. 2 min Ready when: egg mixture is pale and completely smooth
7. Gradually whisk two ladles of warm broth from the pot into the egg mixture one splash at a time to temper the eggs without curdling them. 2 min Ready when: mixture is hot to the touch and glossy
8. Pour the tempered mixture back into the pot, gently swirling the pot in circular motions to incorporate the sauce throughout, then let it rest uncovered for 5 minutes before serving. 5 min Ready when: sauce is creamy, homogenous, and uncurdled

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; reheat very gently over low heat, never boiling, to prevent curdling.

Substitutions

• kid goat shoulder or pork shoulder for lamb shoulder, bone-in, cut into stewing pieces. Pork fricassee with celery or greens is another widespread traditional variant.
• curly endive or wild field greens (horta) for cos or romaine lettuce. Wild bitter greens add an earthy, robust counterpoint to the rich sauce.

Common mistakes

• Adding the avgolemono to a boiling pot.. Boiling heat scrambles the egg proteins instantly, creating split, curdled flecks instead of a velvety sauce.
• Using cold eggs straight from the fridge.. Cold eggs shock more easily when hot broth is added, increasing the risk of curdling.

Regional variants

• In parts of the Peloponnese and Crete, wild stamnagathi or artichokes replace or accompany the lettuce.
• Northern Greek households sometimes add a touch of leek along with the spring onions.

About the dish

Lamb fricassee entered Greek middle-class cookery in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, blending French terminology with traditional Greek avgolemono techniques. It has since become a spring staple across the mainland and islands, celebrated particularly around Easter as a lighter way to cook spring lamb alongside abundant tender cos lettuces, wild greens, and copious amounts of fresh dill. The silky egg-and-lemon sauce coats the sweet greens and rich meat without needing cream or flour.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for easter, sunday lunch, spring.

Cousins elsewhere

• Fricassée (French). The Greek preparation adopted the French term during the late nineteenth-century urban culinary westernisation, transforming it through traditional avgolemono finish.
• Terbiyeli kuzu (Turkish). Turkish cuisine uses a similar egg-and-lemon liaison called terbiyesi to thicken lamb stews.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

812 kcal · protein 52 g · fat 62.4 g (saturated 22.8 g) · carbohydrate 13 g (sugars 4.9 g) · fibre 5.5 g · sodium 1117 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Rooted in early twentieth-century urban Greek bourgeois home cooking, combining stewed spring greens with traditional egg-lemon liaison..