This Greek Style Lamb Traybake is incredibly simple to make, looks beautiful and takes very little prep time. It can be served with green vegetables and gravy or why not go completely Greek and serve it with a simple Greek salad? Perfect for Easter or as an alternative to Sunday roast….but easy enough to make midweek too.
As you probably know by now, I am a big fan of traybakes: simply pop a few ingredients in a tray and roast in the oven – minimal prep, minimal washing up and maximum flavour. This traybake is inspired by the delicious, yet simple flavours of the traditional Greek lamb dish kleftiko.
My version is incredibly easy to do: simply arrange big chunks of potatoes and large pieces of lamb rump in a roasting tray, squeeze over the juice of two lemons and, for maximum lemony flavour, nestle the lemon quarters in amongst the lamb.
Add in some bashed garlic cloves and drizzle over plenty of olive oil, sprinkle over oregano and bay, add a dash of water, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Uncover and cook for a further 15 minutes for crispy potatoes and crunchy gnarly lamb.
Such a simple dish but amazing flavour! It tastes good cold too so why not make a bit extra for your packed lunch the next day?
This would make a lovely dish for Easter Day. It’s so easy to put together and once it’s in the oven, all you have to do is make the salad: meaning you have more time to spend with your friends and family on Easter Day. But it’s too lovely to keep just for Easter. It would also make a wonderful alternative to the traditional Sunday roast dinner and is easy enough to make as a midweek treat too!
The salad can be made in advance, if you wish – it doesn’t include lettuce, so won’t go soggy. I’ve updated my Greek salad recipe with a few little tweaks – I’ve used mixed coloured tomatoes and kalamata olives, plus I quickly marinate the onions in the lemon juice so they are less harsh-tasting. The result is even more delicious than my previous recipe for Greek salad.
If you don’t fancy the idea of salad with your roast lamb you could always do some green veg instead. This would be great with broccoli, cabbage, green beans or a mix of all three!
If you don’t have a large roasting dish like mine, simply use two smaller ones, it will work just as well. Make sure that all the potatoes and lamb pieces sit in one layer but don’t worry if they are quite squashed together – this will allow the flavours to mix and mingle beautifully.
Wine wise, this is a bit of a tricky one – I would naturally serve red wine with lamb, but red wine tends to fight with the lemony flavours in the traybake and the salad, so I would personally choose to serve this dish with a feisty, zingy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which has enough personality to stand up to the lamb and the lemons.
If you prefer a red, go for something juicy and fruity, like a French Grenache, or a Spanish Garnacha, which will cope better with the lemony flavours.
Greek Style Lamb Traybake (Kleftiko)
Ingredients
Lamb Traybake
- 1.5 kg boneless lamb rump cut into 6 pieces
- 750 g baking potatoes peeled and cut into 50g/2oz pieces (ish)
- 2 lemons cut into quarters lengthways
- 8 cloves garlic gently bashed
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 6 bay leaves
- 300 ml cold water
Greek Salad
- 1 small red onion (or half a large one) sliced very thinly
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ cucumber cut into half moons
- 12 cherry tomatoes, mixed colours if possible cut in half
- 12 kalamata olives (or normal black ones , if you prefer) stones removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus a little extra for garnish
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano plus a little extra for garnish
- 100 g feta cheese cubed
Instructions
Lamb Traybake
- Preheat your oven to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F.
- Place the lamb and potatoes in a large baking tray – big enough to fit everything in one layer.
- Cut the lemons into quarters, lengthways and squeeze the juice over the lamb and potatoes. Place the squeezed lemon quarters into the tray.
- Add salt, pepper, garlic, oregano and bay and then drizzle over 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix everything together (you may find this easiest to do with your hands) and lay everything flat in the tray again.
- Carefully pour 300ml/1¼cups cold water into the tray – try to pour the water around the lamb and potatoes, not over the top or you will wash off the oil!
- Cover the tray with tin foil and place in your preheated oven for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours turn the oven up to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F, uncover your tray and roast for 15 minutes to allow the potatoes to crisp up and the lamb to form a gnarly crust.
- Remove from the oven and serve with a Greek salad or with green vegetables instead, if you prefer.
Greek Salad
- The salad can be made ahead of time or just before the lamb is ready to come out of the oven or any time in between. If you are making this ahead of time, simply cover with clingfilm and pop into the fridge until you are ready to serve.
- Start by placing the finely sliced onions and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix together and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This will soften the onions slightly and take away the harsh edge. The onions will also add extra flavour to the dressing, making it even more delicious. You can use this 5 minutes to prep the rest of the ingredients for the salad.
- After 5 minutes, add the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano and mix everything together gently.
- Scatter over the cubed feta and drizzle with a little extra olive oil and sprinkle over an extra pinch of oregano.
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Love Lamb? Check out my collection of Easy & Delicious Lamb Recipes
Fancy trying something new for Easter? Why not check out my other easy alternatives to traditional Easter lamb?
Pin Greek Style Lamb Traybake (Kleftiko) for later
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Mandy says
I bet this is really tasty – I know there are several members of my family who would be very happy with this for tea! Love your wine suggestions too. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thank you, Mandy! I always like to pop in a few wine suggestions – I used to work in the wine trade many years ago and absolutely love trying to work out what wine goes best with what. I often find it surprising how well non traditional combinations work! Eb x
Only Crumbs Remain / Angela says
I’m certainly with you on the tray bake style of cooking Eb, it’s so much easier – throw it in and forget about it (well almost unless you want it charred 😉 ) I notice you’ve succumbed to another packet of feta cheese 😉 for your delicious Greek salad, yummy.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Traybakes are the best! Oh yes, I do so love feta (much more than wensleydale I’m afraid) I very nearly threw some in the traybake, along with a handful of olives. I may well do that next time 🙂 Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
Oh yum! I’m going through a bit of a traybake phase at the moment. Like you say they’re just so easy aren’t they. I may have to sneak this one on to the menu soon as it sounds delicious (I have to sneak because Jon isn’t hugely keen on lamb so I can’t make it too often – so annoying!!).
Eb Gargano says
I am pretty much always in a traybake phase! Very few weeks go by when I don’t make at least one. How can anyone not like lamb? I reckon it’s probably my favourite meat, though I much prefer it slow cooked/roasted – such amazing flavour and texture! Thanks for your kind comments x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Tray bakes make some of the best meals… Strangely we are having a lamb one tonight too…. But I have let Mr GF make it and I am not sure he quite understood the concept….. so we are actually getting more of a roast lamb in a tray bake! Hey ho!
Yours looks delicious…. If Mr GF’s comes out anywhere near this tasty I will be happy xx
Eb Gargano says
I couldn’t agree more! I love the simplicity of traybakes – literally minutes to put together and such fab flavours. I do hope Mr GF’s traybake turns out well. Eb x
Karly says
Wow this looks amazingly delicious! Perfect for Easter!
Eb Gargano says
Thank you! 🙂
Hadia says
Looks absolutely hearty and delicious!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Hadia 🙂
Rebecca - Glutarama says
I love the flavour combinations here, never actually cooked with whole lemons before…I know! madness, I imagine the flavours exploding in your mouth. We’re actually over my parents for Easter Day but there’s plenty of time before and after to give this recipe a go.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Rebecca! I love chucking lemons into dishes like this…the flavour permeates the whole dish in a way that wouldn’t happen if you just squeezed the juice over. And plus it looks pretty 😀 I’d love to know how it goes if you do try this!! Eb x
Corina Blum says
I love your traybakes Eb and this one brings back memories of the flavours we had on holiday in Cypus quite a few years ago – I know I had a great kleftiko on one occasion. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Corina 🙂
Mel says
I think this traybake would make the perfect Easter lunch! I love the fact it’s quick and easy to prepare yet it’s full of flavours and colours! Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks sweetie 🙂 Quick and easy, but full of flavour and colour is EXACTLY what I always aim for!! Eb x
Paula says
This was A-ma-ZING!!! The best lamb I have ever had. Thank you so much for the recipe. I actually made it from diced lamb so it didn’t take that long and preparing the tray took me 10 minutes wow! This recipe will be in my top 10. When putting the ingredients on the dish with some sauce, I added some greek yoghurt and mixed it with the sauce from the tray, sprinkled some paprika for color. Thank you!! Delicious
Eb Gargano says
Thank you so much Paula for this lovely comment. I am so pleased you enjoyed it so much. Love the Greek yoghurt idea! Eb 🙂
Janice Pattie says
A really easy recipe to make. The lamb and potatoes were delicious although I would reduce the amount of water if I made it again as there was a lot left in the tray. The salad was really fabulous and the perfect accompaniment.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks for this lovely feedback, Janice! 🙂