Tava (Cypriot Baked Lamb)

You can use almost any kind of lamb for this. I usually buy a lamb leg and butcher it myself, but you could use shoulder, whole lamb shanks or chops/cutlets. I would advise against using super lean lamb, you need a bit of fat for this to work well.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

Prepare the lamb by cutting into large chunks and place in a large casserole dish or baking tray (about 20 cups capacity). Roughly chop the onions and scatter over the top.

Wash and slice the potatoes into chunks roughly 2.5cm (1 inch) across and place in dish (depending on the potatoes you use you can peel them – sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t). Season well with sea salt and pepper and pour the oil across the top. Chop the parsley roughly and scatter over the top, sprinkle cumin seeds on top as well and mix well with your hands.

Slice the tomatoes into large chunks and scatter over the top, season lightly with salt. Cut butter into small cubes and place around the tomatoes. Pour 1/2 cup of water around the sides of the dish and cover the whole thing tightly with aluminium foil.

Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours tilting the pan gently once or twice to move the liquid around.

After 2 hours, turn the heat up to 200C (390F). Remove the foil from the lamb and place back into oven. Cook for a further 45 minutes, turning the lamb and potatoes once, until the lamb and potatoes have browned slightly and the liquid has reduced.

Serve hot or at room temperature with a simple Greek salad.