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Kleftiko: Greek style lamb & potatoes

An easy and delicious Greek lamb dish. Marinated overnight then slow-cooked, the lamb is fabulously moist and tender. Cook potatoes underneath the lamb and you’ll get the best roast potatoes ever.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek
Keyword kleftiko, lamb
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4-6 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tbsp rosemary leaves chopped
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 2 small lemons, zest & juice
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 - 2 kg lamb leg (or shoulder, or half leg or shoulder)
  • 1 kg potatoes peeled, halved or quartered if large
  • 4-6 bay leaves

Instructions

The day before cooking: marinade the lamb

  1. Make the marinade: Using a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the salt (or use the flat side of a knife). Add the chopped rosemary, oregano, lemon zest and black pepper. Bash together to form a rough paste. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil.

  2. With a sharp knife, make small incisions all over the lamb, then pour over the marinade. Using your hands, spread the marinade over the meat and into the incisions. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

On the day of cooking

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C / 140C fan. Remove the lamb from the fridge.

  2. Take a large roasting tin and lay a piece of foil, approx twice the length of the tin, horizontally across it. Take another long piece of foil and lay it vertically across the first.

  3. Take two large pieces of parchment or greaseproof paper and lay these, one horizontally, one vertically, over the foil.

  4. Put the potatoes in the prepared tin. Season with salt and pepper and tuck the bay leaves among them.

  5. Pour the marinade from the lamb over the potatoes.

  6. Sit the lamb on top of the potatoes then bring the foil and paper up and around to cover the meat. Scrunch the foil and paper together to form a parcel. Use extra foil to cover any gaps if necessary.

  7. Put in the oven and cook for 4.5 hours. If your lamb is at the lower end of the weight range suggested, then check if the meat is cooked after 3.5 hours.

    Tip: the meat is cooked when it's very soft and you can easily pull away some of it from the bone using only a fork.

  8. If the lamb is not yet cooked, reseal the parcel and give it another 30 minutes before checking again

  9. When the meat’s done, tear the sides away from the parcel, baste the meat and increase the oven temperature to 220C (200C fan). Cook for a further 10-20 minutes until the lamb is browned to your liking.

  10. Take the lamb from the baking tin, wrap in foil and keep it warm.

  11. Turn the potatoes over, return them to the oven and continue roasting until they are fully cooked through, golden and crispy (25-45 minutes).

  12. To serve: carve the meat and serve with some of the cooking juices poured over, alongside the potatoes.

    Accompany with vegetables, salads and minted yogurt if liked.


Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.