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Paçja (lamb head soup): photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Viethavvh — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Soups

Paçja (lamb head soup)

Paçja is a traditional Albanian stew made with lamb head and feet, flavoured with red wine, onion and garlic. A festive dish and winter-morning favourite, eaten very hot with bread.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Finition

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Instructions

  1. Blanch the lamb head and feet for 5 minutes in boiling water, then drain and rinse them.
  2. In a large pot, fry the sliced onion in the olive oil for 8 minutes.
  3. Add the meat, brown it for 5 minutes, then deglaze with the red wine and let it reduce by half.
  4. Cover with cold water, add the bay leaves, peppercorns and salt, then bring to the boil and skim.
  5. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours 30 to 3 hours, until the meat comes away from the bone.
  6. Finely chop the garlic, mix it with the vinegar and paprika, then add this to the pot 10 minutes before the end.
  7. Remove the bones and the largest pieces, adjust the seasoning and keep the broth over low heat.
  8. When serving, whisk the egg yolk with the vinegar, pour a little hot broth over it, then tip everything back into the pot off the heat.

Variations and tips

Wine-free version. Replace the red wine with 150 ml of water and add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

More ideas

Original Ecomely recipe.