Abbacchio alla romana

The story

In Rome the Easter lamb has its own word. Chiappini's dictionary of Romanesco, the Roman dialect, compiled in the late 1800s, defines abbacchio as the young of the sheep, still nursing or only just weaned. Where the word comes from is uncertain: one guess points to the Latin ovacula, a little sheep, another to baculum, the stick or spit on which lambs were roasted by the hearth. The lambs come from the pastures of the Castelli Romani hills and the Roman countryside, and lamb at Easter echoes the lamb of Passover, which falls in the same season. Turismo Roma calls lamb a dish no Roman Easter lunch can do without. The Easter Sunday meal described by Gambero Rosso begins with a baked pasta such as lasagne or crespelle, filled crêpes, and moves on to abbacchio with crisp roast potatoes, after a late-morning breakfast of salami, eggs and cheese bread. On Easter Monday many Romans grill small lamb chops, abbacchio a scottadito, at countryside picnics. In 2027 Easter Sunday is March 28. Order the lamb a week ahead and ask the butcher to cut a shoulder into pieces on the bone.