The Capsule Pantry: Greek Kleftiko
To see you through these dark winter days winter
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If you ask me, too many stews - especially from where I’m from in Britain - are way too heavy. The sauces are too thick and unctuous, there’s no acid to cut through and after a couple of bites, you’re done.
Enter Kleftiko.
This is a Greek stew typically made with lamb, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, lemons and white wine. In other words, allllll the acid.
Of course, this is The Capsule Pantry so you can think beyond lamb - I made this with chicken thighs last week and I’ve been known to make it with just the vegetables.
Everything is cooked down for at least an hour and a half or ideally longer, especially if you’re using a slow-cooked cut of meat. The recipe I’ve used and adapted also calls for feta cheese to be added towards the end of the cooking time which is a revelation.
The result is a bright, light, fresh stew that of course, suits the heat of the Greek sun (but I can also vouch works in 40F British weather with rain lashing down outside).
Greek Kleftiko (serves 4)
The original recipe
Half a lamb leg (bone in)
Approximately 3-4 small waxy potatoes per person cut into wedges
3 large tomatoes cut into wedges
1 medium-sized red bell pepper cut into strips
Salt and pepper
Juice of a lemon
30ml / 1/8 cup olive oil
1 bulb garlic cut in half horizontally
100ml White wine / water (or a mix)
Dried oregano
100g feta cheese
Heat the oven to 180C/350F.
In a casserole dish (Le Creuset style is ideal but just anything with a lid), lay down the potato wedges, tomatoes, bell pepper strips, oregano and season well.
Pour over about half the olive oil, lemon juice and all the 100ml of either white wine, water or a mix of the two.
Place the lamb on top and pour in the other half of olive oil and lemon. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Put the lid on top.
Put in the oven and roast for around 2 hours. Keep an eye on both the temperature and the moisture level. You want to keep that lamb moist so if it’s getting dry, add more water or white wine. If it looks like everything is cooking too fast, turn down the oven. I would suggest checking every 30 minutes or so.
After 2 hours - or once the lamb is cooked - take off the lid, add the crumbled feta and return to the oven for the last 10 minutes.
Serve with flatbreads and tzatziki.
Variations
The meat
Lamb shoulder can work very well here. Cooking time will be around 2-3 hours.
Chicken thighs are my go-to when I’m not feeling particularly flush. Fry them in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper until they’re golden then add for the last 20-30mins of cooking, depending on the size of the thighs. You can reduce the cooking time of the whole dish down to about 1.5 hours for this.
Go veggie
Honestly? These vegetables are so good you could skip the meat entirely and miss nothing. I frequently do.
The potatoes
Waxy potatoes are best here because they hold their shape but I’ve made this dish with all purpose potatoes before too. Just make sure they’re not too floury.
The cheese
Leave out the Feta if you’re not keen on it or can’t find it. It’s (almost) just as good without.