In Greek, kleftiko literally means ‘thief’. This peculiar name originates from stories of thieves that would steal lambs or goats from farmers’ flocks in the mountains. They would slow-cook their meat for hours in sealed underground pits to avoid getting caught. In Turkish, the dish is called hırsız kebabı (which similarly means 'kebab of thieves’) or fırın kebabı (meaning 'oven kebab').
In Cyprus, there are popular restaurants peppered around the island that make the dish in a large wood-fired adobe oven called a köy fırın (meaning 'village oven' - see below). The meat is made superbly succulent and fragrant - it literally falls off the bone and locals come from miles around for lunchtime (any later and it all runs out).
This simple recipe is an interpretation of the dish and can be prepared in a conventional home oven. It's perfect for a lazy Sunday when you don’t want to make too much effort, but want to tuck into a hearty dish.
The lamb and potatoes are made fragrant by the onions, cinnamon, oregano and cumin, with a touch of warmth added by the peppercorns. It can be eaten on its own or with some bread, rice or salad on the side.
Although lamb neck is used for this recipe, lamb shoulder is traditional. Goat meat is also a tasty alternative, but is best prepared in a köy fırın if you have access to one. As it's a tougher meat, it requires slower cooking to soften it.
Serves 4 to 5 | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
8 2cm-thick bone-in lamb neck pieces (approx 1.2-1.5kg), washed and strained | 1 tsp salt, or as desired |
4 large (approx 1kg) Cyprus potatoes (or other waxy potato variety), peeled and cut in half lengthwise | 1 tsp black peppercorns |
2 medium onions, sliced into 0.5cm thick crescent shapes | ½ tsp ground black pepper |
50ml sunflower oil | ½ tsp whole cumin, rubbed firmly between your hands to release the flavour |
5-6 whole bay leaves, washed and strained | ¼ tsp ground cinnamon |
1 tsp dried oregano | |
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then make two 1cm deep slits on the rounded side of each potato piece.
Slice the onions into 0.5cm thick crescent shapes.
Lay out the meat and potatoes evenly in a D5xW30xL40cm oven dish. Sprinkle over the sliced onions, peppercorns, bay leaves, salt and spices. Then, drizzle over the sunflower oil.
Add enough hot water to cover the meat half way up. Cover with foil and place in the oven to cook.
After 1 hour, turn the meat and potatoes and sprinkle a few of the onions and bay leaves that have fallen off back over the meat. Re-cover with the foil and place back in the oven to cook for a further 1 hour.
Remove the foil and place back in the oven for a further 20-30 minutes, or until the meat has browned and the potatoes are fully cooked (test with a fork - they should be fairly firm but cooked through).
Serve hot with the sauce drizzled over the meat and with some fresh bread on the side to dip into the sauce.