MyDish

Join thousands of food lovers

Explore

Discover Recipes Celebrity Recipes Find People
Login Join Free
Kleftiko (Greek Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks)

Kleftiko (Greek Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks)

Over a year ago 39,659 views
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 240 mins
Serves: 4
Main Course

Ingredients

Accompaniment

Sponsored

Louis Jadot Macon Blanc - Featured BBC 2 What to eat now

Minerally, unoaked with lemon and apple fruit character, delicate and well balanced. Founded in 1859 this label has become the reliable stamp of quality and consistency. The Maconnais is located in the Southern part of Burgundy, close to the famous Cote d'Or a region ideal for growing Chardonnay. Buy this wine if you like: Chardonnay with mineral freshness and delicate friut.

Description

This lamb dish is very typical of Greek cooking.

Method

  1. 1

    1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C.

    2. Slice the onions and spread them out on a large double thickness of kitchen foil.

    3. Crush the garlic cloves and rub over the lamb shanks.

    4. Place the lamb shanks on top of the onions
    Season with salt & pepper and top with the rosemary sprigs.

    5. Wrap the foil over the top ensuring that it is well sealed. If in doubt wrap in another layer, it is really important that no moisture escapes.

    6. Place in the oven for a minimum of 4 hours, but the shanks can happily stay in longer. When you open the foil parcel the meat should be really tender and can be served with a spoon!
    Try and resist opening the foil part way through cooking, you want to keep all the moisture in.

    7. Serve with Greek salad or your vegetables of choice with the juice spooned over the meat.

Chef's Tips

Optional additions:
Put wedges of peeled potato round the shanks as well, they will be beautifully soft and take on some of the meat juice and colour.
You can also use the juice from the foil parcel as a base for a red wine gravy, and never EVER offer a Greek mint sauce with their lamb!

And for the perfect pudding, see my recipe for Tequila Christmas cake!


Similar Recipes

View all similar
Apricot-braised Lamb Shanks
Apricot-braised Lamb Shanks

by Mr.Jackson

35 mins 11,489
Lamb Kleftiko [ Arnaki Kleftiko] Greek
Lamb Kleftiko [ Arnaki Kleftiko]

by daijohn

180 mins 10,968
Greek Slow-cooked Lamb (Kleftiko) Greek
Greek Slow-cooked Lamb (Kleftiko)

by JailBird!

240 mins 19,605
Best Greek Lamb Kleftiko Greek
Best Greek Lamb Kleftiko

by MyDish

3,813
Barbequed Greek Herb Crusted Butterflied Leg Of Lamb with Chopped Greek Salad Greek
Barbequed Greek Herb Crusted Butterflied Leg Of Lamb with Chopped Greek Salad

by MustardCommunications

20 mins 6,477
Patak's Slow Cooked Lamb Indian
Patak's Slow Cooked Lamb

by Pataks

115 mins 9,061

Comments (3)

jayprime · Over a year ago

I've eaten Kleftiko on many Greek Islands, and also on the Mainland, and it has ALWAYS been done with leg of lamb, NO onions, and with Oregano. It has always been served with chips.I've always been told that it was originally a shepherd's or a bandit's dish, using what they could get on the hillsides. In the morning they'd grab, and slaughter a lamb, remove a leg, grab whatever herbs were growing near them and then cook the dish in an earth oven dug into the hillside and covered so that the smoke wouldn't give them away, leave it and then come back in the evening for their cooked meal. Presumably they ate it on its own.

Keith-11023 · Over a year ago

Lamb shank is always best for kletiko butneck will suffice but take less time to cook. I prefer neck in curry or *tomato bredie (*south african dish)

couteaux · Over a year ago

Hi, Do you think this would work with neck of lamb? I have some in my freezer, waiting to be used up! Thanks :)