Tracking ingredients through the Newton & Compton regional recipe series makes me feel like Julia Donaldson’s detective dog Nell. Although, rather than investigating who stole the library books, the scent is cooking patterns and the differences between the 20 regions of Italy. The word this week was capra (goat).
All 20 regions have recipes. Abruzzo is the most generous, providing seven in total. Three braises – with herbs, tomatoes and sweet-and-sour onions – two roasts, and two brodettati; that is, braised and then given a silky finish with egg yolks and lemon. Among Sicily’s six recipes, there is one for young goat cooked with tomato, potatoes and olives, and finished with cheese; another for a stew with ground and sliced almonds. The Sardinian edition also has six recipes. One for goat roasted with a breadcrumb and herb crust, another (for large festive occasions) that involves digging a hole, lining it with branches of myrtle and rosemary, and baking a goat whole.
The Roman-Laziale edition, a particularly useful one by Livio Jannatoni, features only two recipes. One for goat all’arrabbiata, which, like the pasta of the same name, involves tomatoes and enough red chilli to justify its name (arrabbiata means angry), and kids’ feet stewed with broad beans. There is also an essay about ancient Roman habits and their preference for goat meat over lamb. It also notes that, until the 1920s, goats lived alongside people – not just on the outskirts of the city, but in the centre of Rome, in villas, gardens and communal courtyards, their bells as familiar as those of churches. Female goats provided milk, of course, but older animals, and young males, were cooked in the same way as lamb. So there are actually 20 recipes, with everything for lamb – from slow wine braises for older and tougher animals to quick ways for tender, young ones – also applying to goat.
But before the recipe, we should return to the young goats, though, sadly, they no longer wander the city courtyards and streets. If they did, if we heard their bells, we might value them differently. Appreciate more deeply the females for their milk and cheese, and take responsibility for young males, many of which are euthanised so young that they don’t even need to be recorded. For those who choose not to eat meat, this fact will probably compound the horror. For those of us who do, it is also horrifying. With a solution, realised by James Whetlor and Cabrito, who, having built a relationship with the British dairy industry, take goats from farms nationwide, have them reared to high welfare standards, then supply the meat to consumers and restaurants. This both ends the historic practice of euthanising unwanted male kids, and supplies meat that is low in fat, tender and delicious. Whetlor’s book Goat is exceptional, his philosophy in six words: eat more goat, from good farmers. Inspired, I made a typical Roman braise with wine and herbs, but using young goat instead of lamb.
Braised goat with rosemary and potatoes
Serves 4
6 tbsp olive oil
1.2kg young goat meat, cut into 100g chunks (lamb also works)
Salt
2 bushy sprigs of rosemary - the leaves of one picked and finely minced, the other left whole
2 garlic cloves – one peeled and finely minced, the other peeled and left whole
2 small dried red chillies – one minced finely, the other left whole
400ml dry white wine
1kg evenly-sized waxy potatoes, peeled, halved and boiled
2-3 anchovy fillets
2 tbsp red- or white-wine vinegar
2 tsp olives, green or black, pitted
In a heavy-based saucepan or casserole on a medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Season the pieces of goat with salt, then brown in batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan, and lift out on to a plate when done.
Return all the meat to the pan with the minced garlic, rosemary and chilli, stir for a minute, then pour over the wine and leave to bubble for a minute. Add the whole rosemary sprig, garlic clove and chilli, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and leave to simmer for an hour and a quarter.
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in well salted water until tender. Check the doneness of the goat – it should be getting tender, so continue cooking uncovered until the liquid reduces to a thick gravy.
Mash the anchovies into the vinegar, then pour this over the meat. Add the drained potatoes and olives to the pot, stir gently so as not to break up the potatoes, then turn off the heat and leave to sit for a while – 20 minutes at least, ideally an hour. Gently reheat, then serve.
