Greek lamb

for dinner on a Sunday

Feeds 4

Lamb leg, 1.5kg

Olive oil, ½ cup

Salt, 2 tsp

Oregano dried, 1 tbsp

Lemon, 1

Garlic, 3 cloves

Dutch cream potatoes, 8

Cherry tomatoes, 2 handfuls

Red capsicum, 2

Water, 1 cup

Feta, 200g

Salt and pepper to taste

The day you want to cook your lamb, take it out from the fridge in the morning. Put in a bowl and season plentifully with salt, add the olive oil, dried oregano, juice and zest from the lemon. Finely chop the garlic and add this too. Using your hands, rub it all over the lamb, then cover and put back in the fridge. 

A few hours before you are wanting to cook it, take it from the fridge and leave it on the bench to bring it to room temperature before you put it into the oven. I always cook meat from room temperature as I think it is more tender that way. Brown the meat in a hot oven first . Put the meat on a oven tray or dish that it will fit on, turn up the oven to 220C with a fan and leave it in the oven for about 20 mins or until it has a nice crust then take it out.

Turn down the oven to 150C with a fan.

Peel and chop the potatoes and place in a large baking dish. De-seed the capsicum and cut into strips and put into the dish also along with the cherry tomatoes. Sit the lamb on top of the vegetables and drizzle with olive and a big pinch of salt, add the water to the dish, then cover with aluminium foil until it is well sealed as you want it to retain as much moisture as you can. Alternatively, you can cook this in a dutch oven or a Le Creuset pot if you have one.

Place into the oven and cook for about 3-4 hours. Check halfway through and see if there is still liquid in the dish, if there isn't you can add some more water as you don’t want the vegetables to dry out. When the meat is ready, it will fall from the bone. Crumble the feta over the vegetables and put back in the oven for 10 mins with the foil or lid off.

If there is still some liquid when the meat is ready, you can strain it into a pot and reduce it a little then pour over the meat when you are serving.

Season to taste.

Serve warm with a simple salad or just eat it on its own.