Greek Roast Lamb Recipes

GREEK ROAST LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 240C/fan 220C/gas 9. Pound the garlic, half the oregano, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, then add the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Stab the lamb all over with a sharp knife, then push as much of the herb paste as you can into the holes.
• Tip the potatoes into a large roasting tin, then toss in the remaining olive oil and any remaining herb paste. Nestle the lamb amongst the potatoes, roast for 20 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Roast for 1 hr 15 mins for medium-rare, adding another 15 mins if you prefer your lamb medium. Baste the lamb once or twice with the juices and toss the potatoes. When the lamb is done to your liking, remove from the tin and let it rest. Throw the rest of the oregano in with the potatoes, scoop from the tin and keep warm.
• Place the roasting tin over a medium flame, add the canned tomatoes and olives to the pan juices, then simmer for a few mins. Serve the lamb with the potatoes and sauce and a simple salad.

GREEK SLOW ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 240°C/465°F (220°C fan). (Note 2)
• Use a small knife to make around 25 incisions all over the lamb, with most on the top.
• Cut around 6 cloves into slivers and stuff them into the incisions.
• Sprinkle the lamb generously all over with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over the lamb.
• Place the lamb in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes or until it has a nice brown crust.
• Remove from the oven. Turn the oven down to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
• Turn the lamb upside down. Pour / place all the remaining ingredients in the pan around the lamb (including remaining garlic cloves). Fill the roasting pan with hot water so it comes up about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way up the height of the lamb.
• Cover with lid or with baking/parchment paper then 2 layers of foil. Bake for 3.5 hours. (Note 3) Top up water if it dries out (e.g. Might happen if your lid is loose)
• Remove the roast from the oven and remove the lid/foil. Turn the lamb over so it is the right side up.
• Cover again and roast for a further 2 1/2 hours, or until you can pull meat apart with forks.
• Remove cover and roast for a further 20 - 30 minutes (to brown). (Note 3)
• Remove from the oven and transfer lamb to serving platter. Cover loosely with foil and rest for 30 - 40 minutes.
• Strain liquid into a clear jug. The fat will rise to the top. Scoop/pour most of it off - I get 3/4 - 1 cup. There should be 2 - 3 cups of Sauce left. Adjust salt, pepper and lemon to taste.
• Serve lamb with the Sauce on the side and Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes (heat oil while lamb is in the oven, then cook potatoes when the lamb is resting).

GREEK ROAST LAMB AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In large bowl, whisk together the orange juice, mustard, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir the potatoes into the bowl to coat with orange juice mixture. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon, and place them into a large roasting pan.
• Cut slits into the lamb meat, and stuff the garlic cloves into the slits. Rub remaining orange juice mixture from bowl all over the lamb, and place the lamb on top of the potatoes in the roasting pan. If there's any remaining orange juice mixture, pour it over the lamb.
• Roast in the preheated oven until the potatoes are tender and the lamb is cooked to medium, about 1 hour. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Check every 30 minutes while roasting, and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot water if you find the potatoes are drying out. If the lamb finishes cooking before the potatoes, remove the lamb to a cutting board or serving platter and cover with foil while the potatoes continue to bake in the oven.

AUTHENTIC GREEK ROAST LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven at 400 F (200 C)
• Wash the lamb with a bit of wine. Pat dry
• In a small bowl mix 2 tsp fine salt and 1 tsp or so ground pepper.
• Rub the lamb with the salt and pepper mixture.
• Cut the garlic cloves in half and place them in a small bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper and toss.
• Make deep slits in the lamb (on both sides) and push in the halved garlic cloves.
• Rub 1 tablespoon dry oregano all over the lamb. And then rub the lamb with 3-4 tbsp olive oil and set aside
• Prepare the potatoes. Peel and soak in water if you have time for about 15-20 minutes (you can do this while you are preparing the lamb). Drain and rinse.
• Cut the potatoes in thick long wedges and place in a bowl.
• Drizzle the potatoes with ½ cup olive oil, and add 1-2 tbsp oregano, 3 tbsp lemon juice. ¾ tsp salt, 3 cloves, 3 allspice, fresh ground pepper, and 2 whole garlic cloves. Toss well, so potatoes are coated with the olive oil.
• Spread the potatoes in a large enough pan so that they are in one layer. Place the leg of lamb on top of the potatoes, top side facing down. Pour enough hot water in the corner of the pan tilting the pan so that water spreads throughout the base of the pan, covering the potatoes halfway. Cover with aluminum foil and put it in the oven.
• Roast for 15 minutes and then lower to 340 F (170 C), remove the foil and roast for another 30 minutes or until lamb has turned brown flip the lamb and cook another 30 minutes on the other side until brown and cooked through.
• Once lamb is done, you can remove it and continue roasting the potatoes until all the water has been absorbed and only the oil is left in the pan.
• Let lamb and potatoes rest for 15 minutes before serving.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB, GREEK STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Under running water, trim the outer layer of fat from the lamb and blot dry. Allow the lamb to reach room temperature and squeeze the juice from the lemons over the lamb. Slice cloves of garlic, lengthwise.
• Put salt and pepper into a small container. Cut 6 small slots into each side of the leg of lamb, about 1-inch deep. Insert garlic slivers, followed by salt and pepper, into the lamb. Lightly sprinkle top of lamb with oregano. Pour the water into a roasting pan, add lamb, and cover with foil. Roast on lowest rack of oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
• Remove foil, lower heat to 375 degrees and roast for 40 to 50 minutes, or until lamb reaches desired temperature. Remove and let lamb stand about 30 minutes as the lamb continues to cook.
• To test the temperature of the meat, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the leg without touching the bone. For rare lamb, the thermometer should register 140 degrees. For medium, the thermometer should register 145 degrees.

GREEK ROASTED LAMB

Steps:

• Remove bone and fell from lamb, if necessary.
• Piece together and tie with kitchen twine.
• Mix remaining ingredients and pour over lamb, coating it thoroughly (make additional marinade if needed).
• Marinate lamb 6 hours or preferably, overnight.
• Drain marinade and allow lamb to warm (remove a lot of the chill).
• Place lamb (along with root vegetables, if desired) in roasting pan and roast at 450F for approximately 15 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 350F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer reads 145-150F for medium rare, or 160F+ for well done, allowing that the meat will raise about 5 degrees as it rests after cooking.
• Start checking your meat temp with the instant read thermometer at about 20-25 minutes per pound.
• Allow the roast to rest undisturbed for about 25 minutes before carving.
• Reduce any drippings, if desired, to serve with the lamb.

GREEK ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH POTATOES

Steps:

• Wash lamb well and pat dry.
• Finely chop 8 cloves of garlic and place in a glass dish or sturdy plastic bag large enough to hold the lamb.
• Stir in 4 tsps each of oregano and rosemary, 1/4 cup of the oil, the wine, zest and lemon juice.
• Place lamb in marinade, turning to coat well on all sides; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Crush remaining 6 cloves of garlic and stir together with remaining 2 tsps each oregano and rosemary.
• Remove lamb from marinade (keep marinade) and pierce in several places with the tip of a sharp knife.
• Rub garlic-herb-mustard mixture over lamb, pressing into incisions.
• Coat with remaining 2 tbsp of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
• Peel potatoes and cut into large wedges or like cottage fries (or if you are using small, new potatoes, leave them whole).
• Toss in the marinade kept from the lamb and 2 additional tablespoons of olive oil and pour all of this mixture into your pan, around the lamb.
• Roast, uncovered, in 190 degrees C (375 F) oven for 1 ½ hours, turn lamb over to make a crust on the other side, give potatoes a stir and continue to roast for another 45 minutes (total roasting time - 2 hours and 15 minutes).
• Greeks do not like to eat lamb anyway but well-done.
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding was SO WRONG when they showed the platter of (red-pink lamb being passed around).
• Do it the way you prefer in terms of timing, but this is the way it would be served here.
• Serve with plenty of crusty bread to dip into the pan juices, a large, leafy salad, and lots and lots of red wine!

SLOW-COOKED GREEK LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and sit a shelf as low as possible. Pierce the lamb all over with a small knife, then fill each slit with a garlic clove and half an anchovy fillet. Rub all over with the oil, then season.
• Heat a flameproof casserole dish and sear the lamb all over until well browned. Take off the heat, remove the lamb from the dish and tip in the tomatoes, carrots, sage and rosemary. Sit the lamb on top and scatter over the thyme.
• Cover the dish, slip it onto the bottom shelf of the oven and cook for 4-5 hrs until pull-apart tender. Carefully lift the lamb from the dish, discard the herbs and roughly squash the tomatoes into the juices. Sit the lamb back in the dish and serve in big shredded chunks with tzatziki, chickpea salad and flatbreads for mopping up the juices.

TRADITIONAL GREEK ROASTED LAMB AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Pat dry the lamb using paper towels and place it in a roasting pan. Using a sharp knife, make several incisions in the lamb and insert the slivered garlic and half of the rosemary leaves.
• Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, the other half of the garlic (minced), the other half of the rosemary (chopped), thyme, oregano and lemon zest. Pour the marinade over the lamb making sure to cover it on all sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• 30 minutes before you are ready to roast the lamb, remove it from the refrigerator and turn on the oven to 450°F.
• Wrap the lamb and its marinade well with parchment paper (not wax paper) and then with aluminum foil (this will ensure that all the juices stay with the meat and do not leek.) If you do not have parchment paper, use two layers of foil instead. Place the roasting pan with the lamb in the middle rack of the oven, cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 360°F. Roast for 2 hours.
• While the lamb roasts, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then in quarters. If the potatoes are large, cut each quarter in half again. Place them in a medium bowl and toss them with the salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice.
• After two hours, remove the roast from the oven, open the wrapping carefully and check it. At this point, the bone should be loose and starting to come away from the meat. If it is not, cover the lamb again, return it to the oven, and roast for another 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Uncover the lamb; there should be about a cup of its juices in the pan. If there is not enough liquid, add enough hot water to make about 1 cup. Scatter the potatoes around and under the lamb and return the pan to the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the skin of the lamb is brown and crisp (cover loosely with a piece of foil if the lamb becomes too dark before this time).
• At this point, remove only the lamb from the roasting pan and transfer it to a platter. Cover it loosely with some foil and let it rest for 20 minutes. Continue roasting the potatoes for another 15 minutes, or so, until they become soft and have a nice golden color. There should be still plenty of juice in the pan.
• To serve, spoon some pan juices over the lamb, divide it in four portions and serve it alongside the lemon potatoes. Garnish with some lemon slices and enjoy with a glass of Merlot.