This name of this dish is taken from The Klephts, who were rebels during the Greek revolution. These sheep-rustlers would hide in the mountains and cook in pits sealed with mud, to conceal their location.
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Method
Take the scored joint of meat and press a few thin slivers of the peeled garlic cloves into the gaps near the bone
Pour a tablespoon of oil into the roasting tin and put in the meat, lemon, potatoes and the rest of the unskinned garlic. Sprinkle with oregano salt and pepper, the remaining oil, water and the juice of the other lemon. Cover with foil.
Roast in the oven at 200°C for the first 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 150°C and leave to braise for 2 hours at least.
Uncover and turn up the heat for the last 20 minutes to brown the meat and golden the potatoes.
Add more water is needed. The juices should be no more than a sticky residue by the end.
Serve with more lemon and green salad.
Ingredients
1 leg or shoulder of local grass-fed Spring Lamb, chopped through to the bone in 6-8 places
A whole head of garlic
2 lemons rinsed and chopped into chunks
150ml Olive oil
2kg potatoes (preferably waxy) peeled and quarted
1 tablespoon oregano
More lemon to serve
Recipe source Elizabeth Luard European Peasant Cookery
