SHREDDED LAMB
Slow cooked lamb packed with herbs & spices, cooked kleftiko style
Serves 6-8, Ready in 5+ hours
Shredded lamb, cooked kleftiko style in baking paper under tender
This slow cooked, shredded lamb, is cooked kleftiko-style to make it super tender but I’ve gone punchy with the flavours on this one and trust me, they don’t disappoint!
What’s kleftiko, I hear you asking. It’s a Greek dish where the lamb is cooked in parchment paper to lock in all of the juices so that it just falls off the bone and melts in your mouth.
I’ve gone bold with spices and herbs on this one but you can add whichever herbs and spices you prefer - tone it down or go even hotter than I have with this one, the choice is yours. The beauty of this dish is that you can flavour it however you like, the melt-in-your-mouth texture will remain the same.
INGREDIENTS
1 bone-in lamb shoulder (around 2kg)
5 cloves garlic
3 stems rosemary
1 tbspn red pepper paste
1 tspn oregano
1 tbspn za’atar
1 tbspn ras el hanout
Salt & black pepper
Olive oil
White potatoes
Red onion
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
METHOD
Heat the oven to 170 degrees.
Blend together the garlic, rosemary, red pepper paste, oregano, za’atar, ras el hanout, salt, pepper and olive oil, into a thick paste.
Peel and chop your potatoes and onion into wedges and set aside.
Line a large roasting tin with baking paper across both directions of the tin, leaving plenty paper overhanging so that you can fold it around the lamb later.
Place the potatoes and onion in the tin, followed by the lamb.
Stab slits all across the lamb before spreading the paste over it.
Pour the water into the side of the tray (not over the lamb) and add the bay leaves to the tray too.
Now fold the baking paper around the lamb and veggies to make a parcel.
Place the tray into the middle or lower level of the oven for 5 hours.
When it’s ready, open up the parcel, remove the bones from the lamb and shred to serve straight away.