Jane Grigson

Kleftiko

‘Robbers’ Lamb’

Preparation info
  • Serves

    4

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
The Cooking of the Mediterranean
The Cooking of the Mediterranean

By Jane Grigson

Published 1991

  • About

Bands of robbers – or guerillas, depending on your point of view – lived in the mountains of Greece and Cyprus to harry the occupying Turks. They had a way of cooking meat and birds in a tightly-closed oven. Here is the tame indoor version of this klefti cooking.

Ingredients

  • 1–1.5 kg (2–3½ lb) lamb, veal or chicken joints
  • 1

Method

Preheat the oven. Cut the meat into 4 convenient serving pieces and rub each over with a lemon quarter. Then turn them in the salt and oregano mixture. Choose a pot, earthenware for preference, with a small lid and put in the pieces, plus any salt or oregano that is left. Add pepper, o