Lamb or Goat Scallopini with Wild Mushrooms and Mint
Scallopini is a classic Italian dish traditionally made with chicken, and sometimes a sauce made from white wine, lemon, butter and capers. Chicken isn’t the only meat you could use though, pork, bee f, veal, or like Chef Alan Bergo shows here, with our grass fed lamb or goat. The dish comes together quickly, as the only prep needed is to pound some cutlets out of a loin or leg–easy to do if you have a meat mallet. See the photo gallery below for full walk through.
Chef suggests using lamb or goat loin for the most tender scallopini, but you could also buy a boneless leg and keep the remaining meat for a roast or stew. Ground meat made into patties can also be a good substitute, especially if you don’t have a meat mallet–just make the patties a little thinner than you would a burger.
After the cutlets get lightly pounded and tenderized, they’re seasoned and dusted with flour, quickly sauteed, and stored in a warm oven to rest while the others cook–Chef suggests working in batches, and using an 8-10 inch pan. A traditional lemon-caper sauce is good, but a great way to switch it up a bit is with some fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms, and lambs favorite herb: fresh spearmint. If you know a store that sells wild mushrooms, great! Pictured are wild chanterelle and lobster mushrooms, but any combination you can buy (or find) that you like is fine. Black trumpet mushrooms are excellent. If no wild mushrooms are available, you might try a blend of shittake and oyster mushrooms, in large pieces. Puffball mushrooms can be used if cut into small pieces.
This recipe is by chef Alan Bergo. A chef from Minnesota, Alan is a culinary industry veteran, former executive chef of acclaimed Lucia’s Restaurant, and the Salt Cellar. Founder of the website Forager Chef, he’s best known as a respected authority on Midwestern foraging. Learn more about Alan and his hunt for mushrooms, wild and obscure foods at Forager Chef.
Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
Cutting and pounding scallopini
Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
Lamb or goat picatta with wild mushrooms and mint
Ingredients
- 1 lb lamb or goat loin
- Kosher salt and pepper
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons flour plus more for dusting the cutlets
- 1 tablespoon nonpareil capers or more to taste
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 clove of garlic finely grated or mashed to a paste
- 1 cup lamb or chicken stock
- Fresh sliced mint leaves about 2 tablespoons, plus more to garnish
- 8 oz mushrooms preferably wild (substitute shiitake in a pinch)
- Fresh lemon juice to taste
- Vegetables especially wilted spinach or other greens, for serving
Instructions
- Cut the loin into 4 equal sized pieces, then, with a sharp knife, cut them almost in half to butterfly them (see pictures). Next, pound the meat with a mallet on both sides to even it out and flatten it. Season the meat lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat an oven to warm. Heat the oil, a ten inch pan works good. Working in batches if needed, dust the lamb cutlets with flour one at a time, dust off the excess, and brown on one side, until the cutlets are nearly cooked. Quickly "kiss" the other side of each cutlet, to make sure the flour crust is cooked, but don't brown deeply since they can toughen.
- Transfer the finished cutlets to a pan and keep warm in the oven, and repeat until all the cutlets are done. Try not to burn the flour in the pan.
- Add the butter to the pan, along with the mushrooms, and cook until lightly browned and wilted, about 5 minutes—if the pan dries out, add some more butter or oil. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for a minute until aromatic. Sprinkle the flour over the pan, cook for another minute, then deglaze with the wine and cook down by half. Add the stock and continue cooking until the sauce is lightly thickened. Add the lemon juice to taste, along with the mint and capers.
- Double check the seasoning, adjust as needed, then serve the picatta with the sauce and mushrooms drizzled over each cutlet.
