Francesca Biagi has a passion for good food and is regularly seen creating one of her culinary masterpieces in her South Liverpool kitchen.
The 31-year-old, who works as assistant manager at Duke Street eatery Il Forno and an Italian teacher at the Liverpool Community College, grew up in Rome and has never forgotten her roots.
She said: “I really do love to cook. Although my masterpieces include mostly Italian dishes, I try to be as experimental as I can by using produce from around the world and all varieties of different herbs and spices.”
Francesca’s favourite dishes are Abbacchio alla Scottadito, which translates into ‘Lamb at the Burnt Finger' and Coniglio alla cacciatore, which Francesca describes as ‘rabbit in the style of the huntsman’.
She added: “If I had to pick between the two it would have to be ‘Lamb at the Burnt Finger’. The word scottadito means finger-burning, and gives an idea of how tasty these grilled lamb chops are- people burn their fingers because they can't bear to wait for them to cool a little before plucking them from the grill!”
Recipe
To serve six people you'll need:
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 pounds (1 k) of baby lamb chops
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-2 bay leaves
3-4 juniper berries
3-4 peppercorns
2 cloves garlic
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
Combine the oil and wine in a bowl. Crush the berries and garlic, and tear the bay leaf. Combine them with the lemon wedges and the oil-and-wine mixture, and marinate the lamb for at least 8 hours, turning the pieces occasionally.
You can either cook the lamb chops in a skillet, over a brisk flame, or grill them over the coals. In either case, lay slices of lemon from the marinade over them as they cook, turn them occasionally, and salt them well when they're almost done. If you're doing them over the coals you may also want to baste them with the marinade.
The wine? A Valpolicella Classico, from the town Valpolicella not far from Verona.
