This is a great dish for using up bits and bobs of vegetables, so if like me you got the lamb on offer it turns into an inexpensive dish. It’s also great for popping into the oven and getting on with something else whilst it cooks; handily it takes around the same time as a decent movie. This dish is steamed in baking paper and tin foil so make sure you have enough of both to hand. This is a one dish meal so it also has the added bonus of saving on the washing up.
Ingredients
- Lamb shoulder trimmed and diced, approximately 100g per person
- Shallots
- Cherry Tomatoes 4 per person (pp) halved
- Baby potatoes 3 or 4 pp halved
- Baby carrots 4 or 5 pp, I left mine whole as they were tiny, half if needed
- Baby sweetcorn 3 pp, broken
- ¼tsp Mixed herbs pp
- Bay leaves 1 per parcel
- ½-¾tsp Garlic granules pp
- Feta cheese cubed 3 or 4 small pieces pp
- 1tbsp Virgin Olive oil or Virgin Rapeseed oil pp
- Salt and Black pepper
- Baking paper and tin foil
- Brown the Lamb in a little oil.
- Cut out Large squares of both baking paper and tin foil, 1 of each pp, approx 14″square with the tin foil being slightly larger.
- Making these one at a time, place a portion of lamb on the baking paper.
- Place all the veg over and around the meat, topping with the Feta cheese.
- Sprinkle garlic granules, herbs, salt and pepper over your ingredients.
- Drizzle over your oil.
- Carefully wrap your paper parcel then wrap again in the tin foil.
- Repeat the process for however many people your are making for.
- Cook for at least 2hrs in a pre heated oven, 180°c, 350-375°f, gas mark 4
- Check your meat for tenderness, if needed cook for a further ½hr then check again.
- Serve in the paper with a crusty loaf for soaking up all the beautiful juices.
- Enjoy.
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well done Helen. Another simple but great recipe that should make a fine dinner without too much trouble and work in the kitchen.
I have a couple of comments and questions, so I hope that’s OK with you.
Step 1: I would add a little wine (red or white) to the olive oil while browning/sealing the lamb. White will cut the oil while red will cut the oil and enrich with flavour.
Step 4: “Place all the veg over and around the meat” – Are the veg all cut and diced? Do the baby carrots and potatoes need to be parboiled beforehand?
Step 6: “Drizzle over your oil.” Again I would also drizzle some wine (red or white as before) for the same reason – cutting the oil and adding flavour.
Serving:Since there are a lot of vegetables in the parcels, what do you serve them with? I can envisage chips, a mixed salad or a tomato/cucumber salad. What do you suggest?
The wine is a great idea for cutting through oil and for me a must in dishes like Stiffado, however in Kleftiko I don’t mind the oil as is great for the dunking of, Focaccia or crusty bread, which may cover part of your last question. A Greek salad would be lovely with this which would also use up any leftover Fetta. I’ll update the recipe to show, 1/2ing of tatties etc which have not been parboiled. Thanks for the feedback. H