Lamb Kleftico – slow cooker version

This is a traditional Greek dish that’s slow cooked for hours.  It is absolutely melt in the mouth delicious and a joint favourite for my Dad and I.  Usually one of us makes it for the other on a special occasion.

It was my turn to cook for him and I always do the biggest lamb leg I can, this time that was an absolute cooking fail as it didn’t fit in the frying pan to seal or in the slow cooker.  My trusty hammer and a knife sorted that out but I strongly urge you to not be like me and measure your lamb leg before you start.  Or buy a hacksaw.

Rather than waste the potatoes I chose to cook them as the lamb was resting, I put frylite in the pan and ground sea salt over the potatoes and cooked them in a hot pa to brown/crisp the outsides.  They were delicious.

This recipe is syn free

Ingredient’s

1 lamb shoulder (ideally one that fits in the slow cooker!)

1 kg baby potatoes, washed with skin on

1 red onion

5 garlic cloves

1 lemon

½ cup lamb or chicken stock

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon garlic granules

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fryilte

Method

Wash the baby potatoes and put them, skin on in the slow cooker

Peel and roughly chop the onion, pop that in the slow cooker too along with the garlic cloves.  YO do not need to take the skins off the garlic if you can’t be bothered.  Cut the lemon into wedges and add to the pot

Season the lamb well all over, lots of ground salt and pepper

Pan fry your lamb to brown - if you can!

Spray a large frying pan with fry lite and brown the lamb on all sides, hold it by the bone to get the end brown.  You’re sealing the flavor in and also adding to it with this step

Place the lamb on the bed of potato and onion

Measure your lamb BEFORE you try to get it in th eslow cooker - what a fail!

Put your pan back on a low heat and without cleaning it add the stock and herbs.  This will deglaze the pan ensuring all the really tasty bits from browning the lamb are used

Cook the lamb on a bed of potato and onion

Just heat the stock through and add to the slow cooker

Turn on low and cook for 9-10 hours depending how big the leg of lamb is.  Mine was about 2.5kg and I cooked it for 9 ½ hours

When done the lamb will be falling of the bone, remove from the slow cooker gently and set aside for a few minutes to rest a little  

Pan fry the potatoes and onion

While the lamb is resting I fried the potatoes and the onion.  They’ve been slow cooking for almost 10 hours and are soft which I personally think means they’re full of flavor but I don’t love the texture so using a slotted spoon take out of the slow cooker however many you want and put them in your frying pan.  Spray with frylite and grind sea salt over them.  Turn the heat up high and pan fry.  This gives them a crispy, salty texture that works perfectly with the slow cooked lamb

10 hours later the lamb will fall off the bone - absolutely delicious

As your potatoes are browning go back to the lamb.  You won’t carve it, it sort of falls apart – more like a pulled pork.  Serve immediately with the potatoes, a rice salad, crumbled feta - whatever you like.