Greek lamb with fennel and parsley

In this recipe for slow-roasted lamb by Melbourne chef George Calombaris, the meat is tenderised by the yoghurt and honey and is full of classic Greek flavours. It is then cooked on the barbie to a perfect caramelised finish.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:50 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 500 g boneless lamb neck 
• sea salt
• olive oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped 
• 6 French shallots, roughly chopped 
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 lemon, zested 
• 1 tbsp rigani (dried Greek oregano)
• 250 ml (1 cup) white wine
• 200 g natural yoghurt 
• 1 tbsp honey 
• 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 6 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, leaves picked

Cooling time 1 hour

Chilling time 1 hour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Season the lamb with salt. Place 100 ml of olive oil in a deep ovenproof pot and seal the lamb until golden brown on all sides. Add the onion, shallots, garlic, lemon zest, rigani and white wine to the pot. Cover the lamb with the yoghurt and drizzle with honey. Cover and bake for 1½ hours.

Remove the lamb from the pot and leave to cool. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  

Strain the vegetables from the pot and place in a bowl. Add the fennel and parsley. Season to taste and drizzle with oil.

Slice the lamb into thin strips. Place the strips on a barbecue and grill on both sides. Serve with the fennel salad.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.