Name: Mallorcan Lamb Frito
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mallorcan
Ingredients: 600 g lamb offal (liver, kidneys, heart); 4 medium potatoes; 2 long green peppers (Italian-style); 2 red peppers; 1 small bunch spring onions; 4 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp fresh wild fennel; 1 small Mallorcan chilli, to taste; 2 bay leaves; 1 small glass dry white wine; Mallorcan extra-virgin olive oil; salt

Mallorcan lamb frito is the most Mallorcan dish on the island. Same-day lamb offal, potatoes, peppers, wild fennel and just enough chilli to lift it without taking over. It’s a fork-and-knife dish, a feast dish, a dish for slaughter day and for Sunday lunch.

It’s cooked in a single deep pan, all in the same oil, in order. The potatoes and peppers go first — set aside — then the offal, hard and fast. Everything comes back together with bay, fennel and a splash of white wine that picks up the caramel left behind on the bottom of the pan.

The recipe is simple. The difference is the produce: same-day lamb, fresh wild fennel when it’s in season, and Mallorcan extra-virgin olive oil. If you can’t get the fennel, wait until spring.

Ingredients

600 g lamb offal (liver, kidneys, heart) — from a village butcher, fresh — never frozen

4 medium potatoes — a firm, waxy variety

2 long green peppers (Italian-style)

2 red peppers

1 small bunch spring onions

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp fresh wild fennel — or 1 tsp dried, when out of season

1 small Mallorcan chilli, to taste

2 bay leaves

1 small glass dry white wine

Mallorcan extra-virgin olive oil

salt

Method

Prep the offal

Trim the offal of any sinew and membrane. Cut into roughly 2 cm dice and rinse briefly under cold water. Pat dry thoroughly — water hidden in the meat will spit in the hot oil.

Cut the vegetables

Peel and dice the potatoes a touch larger than the offal. Wash and dice the peppers. Finely chop the spring onions and garlic. Keep everything separate.

Fry the potatoes

Heat plenty of olive oil in a deep pan. Fry the potatoes over medium heat until golden and tender. Lift out and drain on paper.

Fry the peppers

In the same oil, fry the peppers until softened and just starting to colour. Lift out to join the potatoes.

Sear the offal

Pour off most of the oil, leaving just enough to coat the pan. Turn the heat up, add the garlic and spring onions and, as soon as they start to scent the oil, tip in the offal. Sear hard for a few minutes until it changes colour.

Add the aromatics

Add the bay, chilli and fennel. Pour in the wine and let it cook off almost completely, scraping any caramel off the base of the pan.

Bring it together

Return the potatoes and peppers to the pan. Season, stir gently — without smashing the potato — and let the whole thing settle on a low flame for a couple of minutes so the flavours land.

Serve

Serve hot, with rustic country bread and, in season, a few extra fennel fronds scattered over.

Cook's notes

This was a Monday dish at home — the lamb came in on Saturday, and Monday's lunch was always frito. Two things matter: the offal has to be from that morning's butcher, not from the back of a supermarket counter, and the fennel has to be wild fennel. Without the fennel it's not Mallorcan frito. We pick it from the side of the road in spring; in autumn we dry it for winter.

Mallorcan Lamb Frito

Ingredients

Method

Prep the offal

Cut the vegetables

Fry the potatoes

Fry the peppers

Sear the offal

Add the aromatics

Bring it together

Serve

Cook's notes

Nutrition (per serving)

Related recipes

Mallorcan Tumbet

Sopas Mallorquinas

Rather we cooked it for you?