I was born in Sanremo, Italy. One of my very favorite foods growing up was Rostelle. The only restaurant you could (and still can) eat this at was this hole in the wall, family run place, up in the hills, and as a kid my mom would take me there sometimes on weekends.
I loved Rostelle so much that at the age of 14, after trying to be vegetarian for a year, (bad idea) I had to give up so I could eat them again….
Last year when I was in Italy I asked my mom to take me back to the “Tre Poli” the mythical restaurant of my childhood…and I was not disappointed. The Rostelle were just as incredibly amazing as usual.
Here is some photos from that trip, you can see how happy I was!
Rostelle is usually made of sheep meat. Not lamb, and not mutton, more like our hogget..
The meat is probably shoulder, or other second quality fatty parts. the fat is important, as it keeps the meat moist while grilling.
To achieve the special juicyness of Rostelle they are grilled over wood coals, over a specially constructed “tunnel” that channels the heat and fits the size of the skewers.
For my modest version of Rostelle I used lamb stew meat which had a milder flavor than the hogget, but, in my opinion is not quite as juicy.
The preparation is very simple, but the results amazing. (Gotta admit I am not very impartial about this!!)
- 2 pounds of hogget shoulder meat (lamb if hogget can not be found)
- salt
- pepper
- bamboo skewers
- Cut the meat in 1" cubes, as even in size as possible.
- In the meantime soak bamboo skewers in water for at least an hour.
- thread the meat onto the skewers leaving about 3" on the handle side.
- Grill on a coal barbeque on medium high heat, turning every minute.
- The meat should be still tender and juicy when ready.
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