On Easter Sunday in Greece the star of the feast is the lamb, which is often substituted with goat. In some regions (and nowadays all across the country) it’s iconically slow roasted outdoors on a large rotating spit, symbolizing the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of humanity. This tradition of spit roast lamb is linked to customs from ancient Greece and the Jewish Passover. In many parts of Greece, tradition calls for other recipes for cooking or roasting Easter lamb.
Tradition generally dictates that the whole Easter lamb must be used and consumed – including the offal and head – as the lamb here is symbolic and represents the animal sacrificed during the Resurrection of Christ, and thus serves as a tribute to the divine sacrifice.
There are many traditional Easter recipes in Greece that make great use of the offal, such as gardoumpakia and kokoretsi (liver-stuffed intestines), or mageritsa (the traditional Easter soup). Offal is also used in stuffings as is commonly seen in traditional cooking on the islands and the Peloponnese where lamb or goat (as lamb was not often available on some islands) is stuffed and then sealed in a wood-burning oven and slow roasted overnight.
One such example is the recipe for byzanti (or Byzantine stuffed lamb) from Karpathos island, a recipe rich in history with roots in Byzantine and Ottoman cuisines and which is closely tied to the island’s traditions and the celebrations of significant religious and cultural events, particularly Easter. The traditional recipe for Byzanti requires a considerable amount of preparation. It calls for a whole lamb filled with a rich stuffing that includes intestines, rice, herbs, raisins, pine nuts, onions, and a variety of spices. The lamb then is sealed meticulously with mud in a woodburning oven and is left to slow roast for several hours, traditionally overnight. As the recipe has been passed down from generation to generation, it often varies based on family traditions and personal tastes.
To simplify the recipe while keeping the flavours vibrant, I’m turning it into a roulade using deboned lamb shoulder stuffed with a wonderfully aromatic mixture of liver, rice, herbs, and spices. For those who prefer not to use liver or other organ meats, feel free to omit them or substitute with mushrooms. This dish pairs easily with a variety of sides, but roast potatoes and other vegetables are always a hit. Seasonal green salads are always a great addition as well.
Recipe: Stuffed Lamb Roulade
Serves 8
Ingredients:
For the lamb
About 2 1/2 – 3 kg lamb shoulder, deboned and opened for a roulade (you can ask your butcher to prepare it)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper
40 ml olive oil
Juice from 1 large lemon
For the stuffing:
400 gr lamb liver (and other intestines, if desired), cleaned and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
120 g rice such as Greek Carolina rice, Arborio, or other medium-grain white rice
100 ml white wine
300 g chopped tomatoes
50 g raisins
50 g pine nuts
3-4 tbs dill, finely chopped
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
40 ml olive oil
40 ml softened butter
1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the lamb
Wash the lamb thoroughly and then dry it with paper towels. Mix the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and oregano in a bowl and massage the lamb with the mixed ingredients. Season it generously with salt and pepper.
Place the lamb in a deep dish, cover and marinade in the fridge for at least two hours. Before cooking, remove it from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
For the stuffing
In a pot or deep skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the butter and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Add in the chopped liver, and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
Add in the onion, the red pepper, and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes until softened.
Add the spring onion, stirring for a couple of minutes, and then the uncooked rice, stirring again to coat the rice in oil.
Pour in the wine and after about one minute add in the chopped tomatoes and spices. Season with salt and pepper, lower heat and gently cook for about 10-15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Add in the dill, parsley, raisins, and pine nuts, remove from heat and let the rice mixture cool down a bit and set before you are ready to stuff the lamb (you can also make this ahead and use it at room temperature).
Stuffing and Roasting
Preheat the oven to 200°C (conventional oven with the top and bottom heating elements).
Cut a large piece of aluminum foil and lay an equally sized piece of parchment paper on top (large enough for the lamb).
Lay the meat at the center of the parchment paper and using a meat mallet, flatten it a bit to prepare it for stuffing, if necessary.
Mix the remaining softened butter and olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the side of the meat facing up with the butter and olive oil mixture (reserve the rest for later).
Place the stuffing in the center of the lamb along its longer side. Roll it and tie it with string, then roll it into the parchment paper and seal it with the foil, folding the edges inward tightly to prevent the juices from spilling out during baking.
Place the rolled lamb in a deep roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Then unwrap the meat and coat it with the remaining oil-butter mixture.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. Return the lamb in the oven and continue roasting for another 15-30 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and allow it to rest before slicing.
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