(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb or shoulder (3 and 1/2 - 4 pounds)
- Garlic cloves, peeled (about 22)
- 8-10 potatoes, quartered and peeled
- 2-3 medium onions, quartered
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus more for potato seasoning
- black pepper to taste
- The Marinade:
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 5 heaping teaspoons of dried oregano, plus more for potato seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
Nothing is more "Greek" than this dish!! My favorite way to eat lamb is the way my dad makes it every Easter; on the spit with lots of ladolemono (lemony olive oil dressing). Since, I don't have a spit and my dad lives in N.Y (very sad face), I roast my lamb in the oven, which is WAY easier.... I like to roast the lamb with potatoes. They soak up all that delicious flavor and are to die for. Plus, that way all I have to do is toast some bread and put a nice salad together and just like that, dinner is served!
This recipe is also really elegant to prepare for a nice get together with loved ones. Trust me, it's guaranteed to impress 🙂
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Place the garlic on the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the leg of lamb on top of the garlic. Arrange the onions around the lamb.
Whisk the marinade and pour over the lamb. Rub it all over so that everything is marinated. Sprinkle the salt and black pepper over everything. Make sure that you season all sides of the lamb.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, peel and quarter the potatoes and place them in a large bowl covered with cold water.
Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for 1 and 1/2 hour more covered with foil.
Drain water out of potatoes and drizzle about 1/4 cup or less olive oil over them. Lightly season them with salt, pepper and some dried oregano. Add the potatoes to the roasting pan with the lamb and bake covered for an hour.
Remove the foil and bake for about 30 minutes more or until the meat is falling off the bone. Remember to baste the lamb with the sauce in the pan each time you handle the pan.
Remove from the oven and let it rest for 25 minutes in the roasting pan. Transfer it onto a nice platter with the potatoes and serve it with a delicious salad and crusty bread! You can also prepare some more ladolemono sauce to serve with the lamb. Enjoy!!
OPTIONAL: The potatoes can be peeled and left whole so that you may cook them together with the lamb from the start. They will be very flavorful but will become a bit dark. It's up to you! Let me know which way you like it better in the comments section below.
Ladolemono (lemony olive oil sauce):
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Just whisk all of the ingredients together and pour in a nice gravy bowl or any nice small bowl and serve!
3 Comments
jeremy
June 18, 2019 at 10:40 pmhi dimitra,
can this be done at a lower temperature 130C (275 F) for longer cook time and is this fail apart tender like with two forks or even by hand?
much thanks!
Ioanna
October 25, 2019 at 10:54 pmHi Dimitra! I cooked this recipe 3 years ago for fathers day for the first time, my father is greek but he left greece when he was a teen. And since then, every special occasion or family event we had, he asked for it! Now im living in spain and everytime he comes to visit he asks for it! Needless to say, WE LOVE IT! Thank you so much for sharing it with us, and bringing some of Greece to our homes! 😘
Andrea solis
December 22, 2019 at 1:41 pmI was not told how to clean the lamb 😥if I needed to remove the skin, I was lost on that aspect! but for the rest, The recipe looks great I will do it today.