Lamb Kleftiko
Swap your traditional roast lamb for Rick Stein's Greek slow-cooked lamb kleftiko. Roasted for over 2 hours with garlic, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes, the lamb is succulent and falls from the bone. Enjoy leftovers the next day in warm flatbread.
From the book
Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul
Relaxed, elegant dinner party dishes
All the recipes from Rick's TV series
The secret gems of Mediterranean cooking
Introduction
I have written a recipe for kleftiko before, but this one, based on one we had in a restaurant in Symi, had to go in the book .I think it was the combination of tomatoes, red pepper and waxy potatoes and a whole bulb of garlic that did it, plus the slow cooking. Any leftover lamb is delicious wrapped in a warm flatbread with lettuce, tomatoes and finely sliced onions.
Ingredients
| 1.5kg | waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges |
| 1 | large red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips |
| 3 | large tomatoes, cut into thick slices |
| 1 1/2 tsp | salt |
| 12 | turns black peppermill |
| 1 | leg of lamb (about 2.5kg) |
| Juice 1 lemon | |
| 60ml | olive oil |
| 1 | bulb garlic, cut in half horizontally |
| 1 tbsp | dried oregano |
| 200ml | water |
| 100g | feta cheese, roughly crumbled |
Method
Heat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Place the potatoes, red pepper and tomato in a large, flameproof oven dish or tin and season with the salt and pepper. Put the leg of lamb on top and pour over the lemon juice and olive oil, then add the garlic halves to the dish. Sprinkle all over with the oregano. Pour the water into the dish and cover with foil, sealing the edges well to retain the moisture as it cooks. (A large enamelled, lidded, cast-iron pot, such as Le Creuset, would also be suitable to cook this in.)
Cook in the oven for 2½–2¾ hours until the meat is falling off the bone, adding a little more water, if necessary, halfway through to keep the vegetables moist. Remove the foil (or lid) and add the feta, then return to the oven for 10 more minutes. After this time, check the consistency of the juices. If the dish seems a little dry, add a little more water. If too dilute, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving dish and reduce down the liquid on the hob.
Serve the meat in chunks or thick slices with the vegetables and juices.
