Greek Lamb Kleftiko: Tender, Aromatic, and Family-Friendly

Nourishing, tasty, for lunch or dinner, the whole family will appreciate it! Cypriot lamb kleftiko is a traditional Greek dish. At home, potatoes and meat simmer for a long time in the oven. When cooked this way, the dish turns out incredibly soft, aromatic, soaked in spices and seasonings.
cook time: 8h
Chloe Benton
Greek Lamb Kleftiko: Tender, Aromatic, and Family-Friendly

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

119
Calories
5g
Fat
10g
Carbs
9g
Protein

Ingredients (4 portions)

Basic:

Onion 1 pc
Garlic 4 clove
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Potato 8 pc
Paprika 1 tsp
Lemons 1 pc
Oregano dry to taste
Mutton 1 kg

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to make lamb kleftiko in Cypriot style? Prepare all the necessary products. The meat for this dish is traditionally taken only from lamb or young lamb. Sometimes it is prepared with goat meat, but you can use any other meat of your choice. You can use any spices; oregano, basil and paprika best convey the flavor of Mediterranean cuisine.

Step 2

Step 2
First of all, squeeze the juice out of the lemon and add paprika to it. Mix well. To squeeze more juice out of a lemon, first roll it on the table with pressure.

Step 3

Step 3
Rinse the meat well in running water and dry with paper towels. Spread the mixture onto the pieces of meat and leave to marinate for 2-3 hours. The acid contained in lemon juice will make the meat soft and tender.

Step 4

Step 4
Peel the onion, wash, dry and cut into rings.

Step 5

Step 5
Wash the potatoes well, peel and cut into wide slices.

Step 6

Step 6
Take a fireproof baking dish. Cover it with 5-6 layers of foil. Place the foil overlapping so that the juice does not leak out during baking. Place half of the potatoes in a single layer on the bottom. Salt it, sprinkle with spices, pour olive oil.

Step 7

Step 7
Place onion rings on top of potatoes.

Step 8

Step 8
Peel the garlic cloves and place them between the onions.

Step 9

Step 9
Place the marinated meat on the onion. Also salt it and sprinkle with spices.

Step 10

Step 10
Place a layer of remaining potatoes on top of the meat. This layer also needs to be salted and seasoned with spices.

Step 11

Step 11
Wrap the dish well in foil, carefully fold all the edges.

Step 12

Step 12
Place the dish with the dish in the oven, preheated to 270°C for one hour. Then reduce the temperature to 180°C and leave the meat to simmer for 3-5 hours. Notice how high the temperature is at the beginning. That is why choose your baking dish carefully. Mine couldnʼt stand it and split, so I had to transfer the dish to another form.

Step 13

Step 13
Remove the finished dish from the oven. Carefully unwrap the foil and place it on plates, sprinkle with herbs. Bon appetit!

Additional rubrics

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