Food has been on my mind, with Greek Easter approaching one week after Western Easter. Mainly because I’ve been preparing pastitsio, spanakopita, and tiropita. And then there are the baked goods like koulourakia and the traditional Easter bread, tsoureki.
My strongest memory, food-wise, this time of year, is the smell of leg of lamb roasting in the oven, and the mouthwatering aroma of garlic permeating throughout the entire house, making my stomach growl. No, we were not that Greek family that roasted a whole lamb on a spit outdoors. Sorry, all you brave foodies, but I can’t do it. I just can’t.
Here is my mother’s recipe for a leg of lamb stuffed with garlic and roasted potatoes cooked together in one pan.
Καλή όρεξη
Bon appétit
Leg of Lamb
Preheat oven to 350º
Ingredients
Leg of lamb
2 heads of garlic peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 stick of unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon oregano
3 lemons
1 cup water
salt, pepper & oregano to taste
5 pounds of medium sized potatoes
Method
Place the leg of lamb in a large roasting pan. With a knife, cut several deep 1 inch slits into the lamb. In a small bowl, mix together the chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Stuff the slits with the garlic.
Break into pieces approximately 6 tablespoons of the butter, and stuff into the top of the garlic-filled slits. Squeeze the juice from 1½ lemons over the lamb and sprinkle with oregano. Pour the cup of water in the pan and add the remaining butter to the pan.
Roast for 1 hour. In the meantime, cut the potatoes into quarters. After the hour, add the potatoes to the pan around the lamb. Use the remaining 1½ lemons to squeeze onto the potatoes. Add salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. Turn the heat up to 400º. Place a small piece of aluminum foil over just the top of the lamb. Just enough to keep the top from over-browning. Roast for another 2 hours or until meat is fork-tender and the potatoes begin to crisp.
When the roast is ready, remove it from the pan and place it onto a cutting board. Remove the potatoes immediately, or they will soak up all the natural gravy. Slice the lamb and place it onto a serving platter.
cheffie's kitchen 