Name: Agnello a cutturidd
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 50 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Cuisine: Italian, Basilicata
Ingredients: 1.3 kg lamb shoulder, bone-in pieces or 5 cm chunks; 40 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 250 g onion, thickly sliced; 100 g celery, sliced; 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed; 500 g peeled tomatoes, crushed; 250 ml hot water or light unsalted stock; 2 bay leaves; 2 sprigs rosemary; 8 g fine sea salt; 2 g black pepper; 700 g yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks; 15 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped for finishing

Agnello a cutturidd: wide hero view of the finished traditional dish

Prep25 minutes

Cook1 h 50 min

Total2 h 30 min

Yield6 servings

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The dish

About Agnello a cutturidd

Basilicata tourism sources describe cutturidd as a traditional pastoral preparation cooked with sheep or lamb, potatoes, celery, onion and tomato.

The name refers to the small pot traditionally associated with the stew rather than to one rigid modern ingredient list.

This home version uses lamb shoulder, which gives enough connective tissue and fat for a slow braise without becoming dry.

The potatoes are added after the lamb has started to tenderize so they absorb the sauce but remain in distinct pieces.

Technique

Three things that matter

Use shoulder, not lean leg cubes. Collagen-rich lamb shoulder becomes tender and enriches the sauce during a long simmer.
Keep the simmer quiet. Rapid boiling tightens meat and breaks potatoes before the lamb is tender.
Add potatoes in the second half. They should finish at the same moment the lamb becomes fork-tender.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Lamb stew

1.3 kglamb shoulderbone-in pieces or 5 cm chunks
40 mlextra-virgin olive oil
250 gonionthickly sliced
100 gcelerysliced
2garlic cloveslightly crushed
500 gpeeled tomatoescrushed
250 mlhot water or light unsalted stock
2bay leaves
2 sprigsrosemary
8 gfine sea salt
2 gblack pepper

Potatoes

700 gyellow potatoespeeled and cut into large chunks
15 gflat-leaf parsleychopped for finishing

Step by step

Method

Brown the lamb and build the base

Dry and season the lamb. Pat lamb dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Dry surfaces should sear instead of steaming.
Brown in batches. Heat olive oil and colour lamb pieces on several sides, working in batches if necessary.
The pot should develop a brown fond without burnt black spots.
Soften the aromatics. Lower heat, add onion, celery and garlic and cook until softened, scraping the fond.
Onion should turn translucent and sweet, not deeply browned.

Braise gently

Add tomato and herbs. Return lamb, add tomatoes, water, bay and rosemary and bring to a quiet simmer.
Liquid should come roughly halfway up the meat rather than cover it completely.
Cook covered. Cover and simmer very gently for about 55–65 minutes.
The lamb should begin to soften but still resist a fork slightly.
Add potato chunks. Nestle the potatoes into the stew and turn them once in the sauce.
Large pieces should be partly submerged and evenly distributed.

Finish lamb and potatoes together

Continue the braise. Cook covered another 35–45 minutes until lamb and potatoes are tender.
A fork should enter the lamb easily and potatoes should stay intact.
Reduce if necessary. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes if the sauce is thin, turning pieces carefully.
The cooking juices should lightly coat meat and potatoes rather than pool like soup.
Rest and finish. Remove bay and rosemary stems, adjust seasoning, add parsley and rest 10–15 minutes.
The sauce should settle and the lamb should remain succulent when served.

Practical guidance

Serving

Serve from a warm bowl with country bread; this is a rustic meat-and-potato main course.

Meat variation

Traditional cutturidd preparations may use mature sheep as well as lamb; cooking time must be longer for older meat.

Make-ahead

The stew reheats very well the next day; chill it in its sauce and warm slowly.

Troubleshooting

Lamb is tough. It needs more low-temperature time; continue covered until a fork enters easily.
Potatoes disintegrate. They were cut too small, added too early or boiled too hard.
Stew tastes flat. Finish seasoning only after reduction, when tomato and lamb flavours are concentrated.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 of 6
Calories: approximately 600 kcal
Carbohydrates: 31 g
Protein: 48 g
Fat: 32 g
Fibre: 5 g
Sodium: 720 mg

Approximate; bone content and lamb trimming change the edible yield.

Allergens and food safety

Brown and cook lamb with clean utensils, avoiding cross-contamination from raw meat.

For a stew, cook until the meat is fully hot and tender throughout; if checking temperature, aim for at least 71°C in the thickest meat.

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to at least 74°C.

FAQ

What does cutturidd mean?

It refers to the traditional small cooking pot associated with this shepherd-style stew.

Can older sheep be used?

Yes, and regional tradition often does; it simply needs a longer slow cook than lamb shoulder.

Should the stew be very soupy?

No. It should have concentrated cooking juices that coat the lamb and potatoes.

Final note

What matters most

Result: Fork-tender lamb and intact potatoes coated in a rustic tomato-onion sauce scented with rosemary and bay.
Key: Use a quiet simmer and add potatoes only after the lamb has had a head start.