If there’s one thing Greeks do right, it’s a lamb. Slow-cooked lamb is something both my yiayias would make, sometimes for special occasions or just a casual dinner.
You knew you were in a for a great meal when you could smell the succulent aroma of lamb, oil and garlic – the perfect trio.
Oven roasted lamb shoulder
Serves 4
Ingredients
1.5-2kg lamb shoulder
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
Greek oregano, to taste
Olive oil, to drizzle
4 large washed white potatoes, cut lengthways into wedges
Garden salad, to serve (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). If you have a moisture setting on your oven, this will help with the cooking process. Set it to 40%.
Place the lamb in a large roasting dish. Cut 3 slits in the top of the lamb and push in the whole garlic cloves. Add pieces of rosemary to the slits
and put the remaining rosemary in the dish with the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and oregano.
Baste the lamb generously with olive oil and rub all angles of the meat to ensure it’s covered. If you are not using a steam oven, cover the dish
securely with foil.
Roast for 5 hours. Remove the foil (if using) and cook for a further 1 hour or until the lamb is super tender and melts off the bone, and the potatoes
are crispy around the edges.
Serve the lamb and potatoes with plenty of the pan juices. Add a fresh salad from the garden, if you like.
This is an extract from Ela na Fáme! by Eleftheria Amanatidis. The cookbook is a story of love, passion and provenance: two sisters and the yiayias who taught them. Purchase a copy of the book here.