Central Macedonian Arni Fricassee (Αρνί Φρικασέ Μακεδονίας)

Central Macedonia's arni frikase is spring lamb in its pale green clothes: shoulder or neck braised until tender, romaine folded in by the armful, dill at the end, and avgolemono holding the broth in a lemony silk. It belongs to the weeks around Easter, when lamb is on the table and the lettuces are still sweet enough to cook.

One method decides the dish. You take the pot off the heat and add hot broth to the eggs and lemon a ladle at a time, whisking until the bowl feels warm. Then the avgolemono goes back into the pot and thickens by the heat already there. Boil it and it curdles. Be patient and it turns glossy, clinging to the lamb and the greens.

The region is the dish's surname, and this is the Macedonian house version I write down: romaine, spring onion, dill, no tomato, no flour. If you have good endive or tender wild greens, they belong here too, but don't bury the lamb under every green in the market. Λίγα και καλά, a few things, and good ones.