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By Socrates Tsichlias
Wherever I have been, and any year to which I cast my mind back, I always remember one thing fondly about every single Easter I have ever experienced: My fellow Greeks at their absolute best. Easter is a crackerjack of a holiday, outgoing and upbeat as we race toward the summer. What more could you ask for?
Last year, I spent Easter on an island where steady rainfall throughout the winter had brought out wild herbs all over the place, fennel plants lining the roads, bent by their weight, their aroma evoking all sorts of ideas for the Easter lamb. Nearby, we sucked in the scent of wild thyme, savory and oregano, a cook’s joy ready for the picking. Plenty of herbs and lemon filled the belly of our lamb, yet the result was disappointing.
The curse of the spit had struck again: On the outside, the roast lamb looked beautifully crisp, the aroma had us salivating. But, once we cut into it, our hopes were dashed. The inside of the lamb, the meat nearest the bone, the tastiest part, was underdone. The truth is that this is the kind of lamb I end up eating half the time at Easter and the reason is always the same: too many cooks.
The arguing begins at dawn over the charcoal: how much is needed to get it going, how hot it has to be before the lamb is put on the spit, when to add more, when to stoke the flames and when to let them die down.
It continues all through the cooking process and ends only when the voices of the hungry diners prevail around lunchtime -- usually an hour earlier than the lamb needs to be properly cooked through.
In my opinion, the tastiest lamb is that which is baked in the oven on a bed of vine twigs. You can control the cooking time, it is always cooked perfectly, it is easy to serve and presentable, and any oversights can be quickly rectified.
If, however, you can’t imagine Easter without a lamb on the spit, here are a few tips: Estimate that an 8-10 kilo lamb will need at least four or five hours. Make sure you have someone at hand who knows how to tie it well and another who knows their charcoal. Have one person in charge and another as his or her assistant.
Prolonged negotiations do not a good lamb make. But, even if it all goes wrong, the day after, a quick roast of the half-cooked lamb in the oven can make an excellent meal of leftovers.
RECIPE
Roast leg of lamb in a nest of vine twigs
In Roumeli, central Greece, as well as other parts of the country, it is traditional to weave vine twigs together to make a bed in a deep roasting pan for a whole lamb or kid, which gives the meat a rich woody flavor. If you don’t have a vine, ask a friend, your butcher or the grocer – someone is sure to be able to get their hands on some. Also, make sure to wash the twigs well in plenty of water before using them.
Ingredients (serves 6)
For the meat
1 leg of lamb or kid, approximately
2.5 to 3 kg, with the bone
1/2 lemon
Enough vine twigs to cover the bottom of the baking tray
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
For the seasoning
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp fresh rosemary or thyme, finely chopped or dried and ground
2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
For the seasoning, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Wash the meat well and dry. Rub the meat well all over with the lemon. Use a sharp knife to make four or five deep cuts in different parts of the joint and stuff the holes with the seasoning mix, leaving enough aside to marinade the outside of the meat. Rub in the salt and pepper.
Break the vine twigs so that you can place them in a criss-cross pattern at the bottom of the baking tray (preferably the deep metal kind). Place the meat atop the twigs, cover the tray and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 1/2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Heat the oven to 190C. Put about 1 inch of water into the baking tray and cook the meat for about 20-30 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 150C and cook for about 1 hour (for kid) or 90 minutes for lamb. Make sure to keep adding water when necessary. You can also brush the meat with a bit of olive oil over the course of cooking in order to get a crispier finish. You know the meat is ready when the skin begins to separate from the bone. To make sure, pierce it with a fork and see if the liquid that comes out is clear. Switch off the oven, open the door halfway and let the meat rest for about 20 minutes. Remove the meat from the baking tray, cut into portions and serve on a large platter.
Instead of water, you can also put potatoes into the tray. Mix them in a separate bowl before roasting with 1 tsp mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp oregano or savory, salt and pepper.
Nena Ismyrnoglou
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