Slow-roasted, spice-rubbed shoulder of lamb with pita and tzatziki

Σιγοψημένο μαριναρισμένο αρνίσιο χεράκι με μπαχαρικά, πίτες και τζατζίκι

Dec 11, 2024

∙ Paid

There’s nothing like the smell of lamb roasting in the oven on Easter day.

If we were spending Easter in Greece this year with our families and friends, there would most certainly be lamb on a spit on the menu, but since we’re staying in the Netherlands, roasted lamb it is. Not that I’m complaining, because in all honesty, I prefer it.

I have already shared with you my traditional Greek leg of lamb, and the slow-roasted Greek shoulder of lamb with herbs and potatoes last year, and now it’s time for this; something a bit different, a shoulder of lamb rubbed and coated with an incredibly aromatic mixture of spices, garlic, parsley and olive oil, marinated overnight and roasted in the oven the next day for almost five hours.

Needless to say, those five hours will seem like a million, because the smell of that lamb roasting with the spices is going to drive you crazy with anticipation. It will be like torture for your soul but your patience will be rewarded by the most flavorful and tender lamb you’ll ever eat. It will be falling off the bone, it will be juicy and deeply savory with the spices complementing its flavor in the most wonderful way.

And the best part comes now; the eating part. It’s not just having a piece of meat on your plate with a few sides, it’s a whole experience. Sitting down comfortably at the Easter table with your loved ones, having all those fluffy pites ready, your salad, your tzatziki, your sumac red onions with parsley —all the accompaniments to the main dish that more often than not seem to be neglected, but little do people know that they make all the difference— digging in, creating a different type of souvlaki, much more advanced and infinitely more delicious.

Take your warm pita, open it up, place some shredded pieces of lamb inside, drizzle with the juices from the pan (there will be plenty!) and a good squeeze of lemon, add some of the carrot, red cabbage and apple salad with ladolemono (olive oil and lemon dressing) on top, a small handful (or big if you’re anything like me) of the finely sliced red onion mixed with fresh parsley and sumac, and finish off with a good dollop or two of the glorious tzatziki.

Juicy, tender meat, spicy, slightly hot and sweet and deeply fragrant, with unctuous, crispy skin, with the crunchy salad adding acidity to balance the richness and strong flavor of the lamb, freshening it up, with the onion and sumac adding zing and spark, and the tzatziki lending its creaminess to the whole lot while the warm, soft pita being the ideal vessel to carry it all into your mouth.

Not only the best Easter meal ever, but the best any-day meal if you’re looking to eat something utterly scrumptious.

Kalo Pascha!! Happy Easter!!