Greek Lamb – slow cooked

Today is a special day, it calls for Greek Lamb – slow cooked. Sarah and Darryn are celebrating their official marriage date. The 19th January 2013 was when they started their relationship. In 2022, the year of their marriage, they decided to get the paperwork done ahead of their celebrations in July and they chose the 19th of January to do it. It was a very confusing time for me as I wasn’t prepared for the way they chose to do it. It was to be a very small private affair between the two immediate families. I was sworn to secrecy, which I honoured, but it didn’t come without a price to be paid by various family members who felt hurt and excluded. I spent long hours ruminating over how we would tell them without hurting them. In the end it all worked out and we had a wonderful wedding in July 2022 in celebration of their unity.

For more lamb options check out my Wee Beastie Lamb Shanks. They are perfect for a couple or a small family if you don’t feel like making a whole leg of lamb.

Lamb favorites

Lamb has to be one of Darryn and Sarah’s favourite meals. As they live so far away from us, I can’t pop in with a gift to congratulate them on their official 2 years of marriage. We decided to Face Time them this morning to congratulate them and then I sent them a Woolworths Dash Delivery. In the bag was I bottle of sparkling wine, a little house plant and a free range leg of lamb.

Later when sarah called to say thank you, she said it was going to be a sweltering 38ºC in Cape Town today and maybe the best way to prepare the lamb would be my Greek way with tomatoes and olives and a big salad. I realised I hadn’t loaded the recipe, so here is is…I use loads of fresh herbs in almost everything. Use your favourite ones and leave out the rest. The technique is inspired from Jamie Oliver where he uses herbed butter for lamb shanks. Now every time I cook lamb I use this technique.

Greek Lamb

Ingredients

• 1 small roast lamb with bone +-1.6kg – 1.8kg
• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 175 ml white wine
• 1 zest of one lemon
• 16 pitted, olives, Calamata
• 3 cloves, garlic,
• 70 g butter,
• 3 tbls olive oil
• 6-12 Sage leaves
• 2 thyme, sprigs about 5cm long
• small bunch oregano
• 3 mint leaves sprigs about 3cm
• 6 Rosemary, sprigs about 3cm long
• Add extra fresh herbs to base of onion and tomatoes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 120°C

Line a baking dish with baking paper big enough to cover the lamb

• Add sliced onion to top of the baking paper.
  1 onion
• add the chopped tomato, lemon zest and extra herbs to the onion along with the spring onion and olives
  1 spring onion, chopped, 1 tomato, chopped, 1 zest of one lemon, small bunch oregano, Add extra fresh herbs to base of onion and tomatoes
• In a small blender attached with a blade add two sprigs of thyme, butter, garlic, splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and sage.
  3 cloves, garlic,, 70 g butter,, 3 tbls olive oil, 6-12 Sage leaves, 2 thyme, sprigs about 5cm long, 6 Rosemary, sprigs about 3cm long, 3 mint leaves sprigs about 3cm
• blitz until the butter is smooth. Add more Olive Oil if necessary. Season with salt and pepper
• Add salt and pepper to the lamb and cover with the herb butter piercing holes in the lamb to ensure the butter seeps into the lamb when cooking 

  Place the lamb on top of the onion and tomato and add the olives and wine or water  

  Cover with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 120°C for 3 -3½ hours. Check to see it it is pull apart ready. Rest the lamb and pull apart when ready to serve with with greek salad, humus, tzatziki, and pita breads.
  1 small roast lamb with bone +-1.6kg – 1.8kg, 16 pitted, olives, Calamata, 175 ml white wine