An Abruzzese lamb-offal secondo deeply tied to Easter. The coratella — the spring lamb's pluck of heart, liver and lungs, sometimes with spleen and sweetbreads — is cut small and stewed down with a great deal of onion, white wine and herbs, often with tomato. It is a pastoral, nothing-wasted dish from the region's shepherding tradition, eaten across Abruzzo at Easter, in some places at the Easter-morning breakfast alongside sausage, hard-boiled eggs and pizza.
Coratella is the cooked pluck — heart, liver, lungs — of small animals, a dish found across central Italy from Sardinia to Lazio, Umbria, the Marche and Abruzzo; the Roman version famously pairs it with artichokes. The Abruzzese version is bound to the pastoral economy: it is a peasant dish of the transumanza, the seasonal droving of flocks, traditionally eaten when the sheep returned from wintering on the plains of Puglia. Its strongest association is with Easter and the spring lamb, when the slaughter of young animals coincided with the feast. There is no single canonical Abruzzese recipe — tomato or no tomato, the cooking order of the organs, all vary from one shepherding family to the next.
Heart and lung are firm and faintly springy, the liver soft and rich and just set; together they read as a deep, mineral, offal savouriness rounded by the sweetness of long-cooked onion. White wine and herbs lift it; a touch of chilli, where used, brings warmth rather than fire. With tomato the stew turns ruddy and mellow. It wants bread to mop the dark, oniony juices, and a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo against the richness.
The organs cook at very different speeds, which is why many cooks stage them: the firmer heart and lungs go in first to stew longer, while the liver is added last because it cooks in minutes and turns hard and bitter if overdone. The generous onion, sweated slowly, breaks down into a sweet, jammy base whose sugars balance the strong, iron-rich flavour of the offal. A splash of white wine deglazes the pan and its acidity cuts the richness, while the herbs perfume the pot.
Variations
Tomato-based and 'white' wineless-of-tomato versions both exist across Abruzzo. Chilli is the usual heat where any is wanted; sweet peppers, sometimes in an agrodolce of vinegar and sugar, appear in some local versions but are not canonical. It is mainly served as a secondo, though restaurants now sometimes plate it as a starter — a recent habit. A close Abruzzese relative, mazzarelle, wraps the same lamb offal in gut and chard.
On the Palate
Where Coratella d'Abruzzo sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 120 min
Clean the lamb pluck well, trim away any tubes and membrane, and cut the heart, lungs and liver into small, even pieces, keeping the liver separate.
- 212 min
In a wide pan, sweat a generous amount of sliced onion in olive oil over low heat until soft and golden.
- 35 min
Add the heart and lungs, raise the heat, and let them brown and stew with the onion for a few minutes.
Watch outAdd the firm heart and lungs first to stew longer — they cook much slower than the liver, so staging keeps everything right.
- 428 min
Pour in the white wine, let it evaporate, then add tomato (if using), bay and rosemary, and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes.
- 55 min
Stir in the liver near the end and cook just a few minutes more, until set but still tender; season with salt, pepper and a little chilli if liked.
Watch outStir the liver in only near the end and cook just a few minutes — it firms in minutes and turns hard and bitter if overdone.
- 63 min
Rest off the heat a few minutes and serve hot with crusty bread.
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