Greek Style Lamb Traybake (Kleftiko)

5 from 4 votes

Greek Style Lamb Traybake (Kleftiko)

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. (Serves 4-6, depending on appetite.)

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2 15

Total Time 2 30

Servings people

Calories 652kcal

Author Eb Gargano

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

Metric - US Customary

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.

Nutrition