Loosely translated as ‘thieves lamb’, one of our much loved Cypriot family dishes.
You know there are dishes so ingrained in Cypriot culture, that upon checking today, I couldn’t quite believe that I’ve never blogged it before.
I’m positive one of my kids will one day come searching for this recipe.
This is a very forgiving recipe. I use lamb shoulder (one per large baking dish) and I asked the butcher to chop it into thick steaks, maybe an inch or so in thickness.
Place the lamb shoulder steaks in the baking dish, with one or two potatoes per person, which you slice in half lengthways.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on Cyprus potatoes, from the afore mentioned butcher!
Cypriot potatoes are waxy and sweet and hold together really well when cooked. I’m always absolutely thrilled when I find them, because they’re not that easy to come by unless you’ve got a friendly green grocer who can source them for you.
Anyway, back to the recipe.
Season the lamb and potatoes with salt and pepper and sprinkle liberally with ground cinnamon and about 3/4 bay leaves.
Pour over either a half bottle of white wine or a small bottle of lager and a few tablespoons of cooking oil.
Get your hands in the dish and mix it all up. Cover with foil and bake at 150 deg C for 3 hours. Remove the foil and turn it up to 200 deg C for the final 15/20 minutes to brown everything.
Serve with a fresh Greek salad and a nice glass of something chilled 😉
At Anna’s Kitchen Table 