Kleftiko

June 4, 2018 (Last Updated: November 13, 2018)

Kleftiko means “stolen” and the origins of this dish go back to the early days of the Greek freedom fighters who lived in the mountains. They had to prepare the meat that they had stolen in a way that it would not be seen or smelled and they achieved this by baking it in earthenware pottery vessels that were then buried underground. Today kleftiko is made by tightly wrapping lamb in foil and baking it until the meat literally falls off the bone.

Print Recipe

Kleftiko

Serves: 2
Cooking Time: 6 hrs including resting and cooking

Ingredients

  • 2 lamb shanks
  • 250g small potatoes, quartered and roasted

  • Marinade

  • 80ml olive oil
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 40ml fresh origanum
  • 40ml fresh rosemary
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 red onion, quartered
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, chopped
  • 100g sugar snap peas
  • 1 x 400g tin artichoke bottoms, drained
  • 100g feta, cubed
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1

Put the lamb shanks in a bowl. Mix the marinade ingredients well to combine and pour over the shanks. With your hands work the marinade all over the shanks. Refrigerate for about 2 hours.

2

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

3

Shape 2 pieces of foil into squares big enough to hold the shanks and vegetables. Place the foil on a working surface. Divide the vegetables between the foil pieces and place the shanks on top. Sprinkle with feta and pour the leftover marinade over. Season to taste.

4

Pinch the edges of the foil together to make a sealed parcel. Place the parcels on a baking tray and add about 500ml water to the tray. Bake until the lamb has fallen off the bone, about 3 – 4 hours. Pour more water into the baking tray as it dries out.

5

Place each parcel on a serving plate and serve while still hot with the roasted potatoes.

 

More From FHE:

June 4, 2018 (Last Updated: November 13, 2018) By
Send this to a friend