This Greek slow-cooked lamb roast recipe is delicious and packed with flavor. With green and red peppers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and lots of herbs it is guaranteed to bring a smile to your guests' faces.
If you love this Slow Cooked Lamb Roast, you will also love this leg of lamb in a parcel - kleftiko, lamb stew avgolemono or dutch oven roast chicken!
Why this recipe sings
If you haven't cooked a whole leg of lamb before, here is the place to start. This recipe is easy and full of healthy ingredients. The lamb slow roasts surrounded by vegetables like Greek red horn peppers from Florina, greenhorn peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes in a lemon, olive oil, and herbs broth. The gravy is made from pan drippings and is truly divine.
How to make it
In a bowl mix the minced garlic, rosemary, and thyme leaves, dried thyme, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and extra virgin olive oil, then score the lamb with a knife and rub the marinade all over.
Place the lamb in a deep roasting tray. Pour on the bottom of the stock, lemon chunks, and bay leaves, cover with foil and bake for 3 hours at 160° C / 320°F.
Add the chopped peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes to a big bowl. Next, add the chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, and dried oregano with ¼ cup of olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well.
After three hours of roasting remove the foil, take the lamb from the pan and move it to a plater.
Add all the veggies with the juices that have accumulated to the pan. Add the lamb on top. Place pan in the oven and roast uncovered for another hour.
Leave the lamb to rest for 10 minutes and serve with roasted lemon potatoes, warm crusty bread to dip in the sauce, and a yogurt tahini sauce.
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Slow-Cooked Lamb Roast
Equipment
- large roasting pan
- cutting board
- large mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 4 lb leg of lamb or lamb shoulder. Boneless.
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs just the leaves
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs just the leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the lamb and marinade
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 lemons halved and quartered
- 2 red onions cut into wedges
- 2 red peppers cut into 1" pieces
- 2 greenhorn peppers cut into 1" pieces
- 1 cup small tomatoes cherry, heirloom tomatoes or sugar bomb tomatoes or Campari.
- 2 small size zucchini cut into 1" pieces
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs just the leaves
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs just the leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- dried oregano
For serving
- yogurt garlic tahini sauce
- roasted potatoes
Instructions
- In a bowl mix the minced garlic, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, rosemary and thyme leaves, and dried thyme, then score the lamb with a knife and rub the marinade all over.
- Add the chopped peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes to a big bowl. Next, add the chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, and dried oregano with ¼ cup of olive oil—season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well and let vegetables sit while lamb roasts.
- Place the lamb in a deep roasting tray. Pour on the bottom of the pan the stock, lemon chunks, and bay leaves, cover with foil, and bake for 3 hours at 140° C / 285°F.
- After 3 hours take the pan out of the oven. Turn the heat up to 190°c / 375°F.
- Remove the foil, remove the lamb from the pan and move it to a plater. Add all the veggies with their juices to the pan. Then, add the lamb on top.Place pan into the oven and roast for another hour.
- Leave the lamb to rest for 10 minutes. Then, transfer it to a platter with the vegetables. Serve with roasted potatoes, bread, a green salad, and a yogurt tahini sauce.
Notes
- Substitute the leg of lamb with lamb shoulder. You can use bone-in roast but adjust the cooking time. Bone-in requires a longer roasting time.
- Instead of greenhorn peppers, use green bell peppers. Same for the Greek Florina red horn peppers; substitute with red bell peppers.
- You can add cubes of halloumi cheese to the pan at the last hour of roasting.
- If you can't find fresh herbs, substitute with their dried versions.