In the early nineties I went off on my first sojourn in Europe. Starting in London I rapidly realised I needed to cross onto the continent. Don’t get me wrong London is an amazing city but the lure of different languages, cultures and of course the offer of working as a chef in a Greek resort, got me onto a plane and into Athens within a week.

I love an adventure so this was a perfect little ...... for me to jump into. I arrived in the small fishing village of Lavrio and couldn’t believe my luck. No, I was not on a resort island surrounded by crazy party animals, I was in a greek fishing village on the mainland with the resort perched on a cliff about 20 minutes away. How lucky was I. I got to work and live with great people everyday and visit the the  

This recipe combines a number of ingredients I love – lamb, fennel, yoghurt, lemon, oregano – what’s not to love. Also it uses a really cheap cut of lamb. You use the neck. Ask the butcher to bone it for you and keep the bones, then can make a stock later using them. He may give you a strange look when you ask him to do this, but reassure him you are making one of the tastiest meals this side of Athens.

500 grams Lamb Neck (boneless)

Sea Salt

Slug Olive Oil

1 Brown Onion

6 French Eschallots 

2 cloves Garlic, sliced

Zest of 1 Lemon

1 tbspn Dry Oregano preferably Greek.  

250ml White Wine

200gms Natural Yoghurt

1 tbspn Honey

1 Fennel Bulb

¼ cup Flat Leaf Parsley

Method

Season lamb neck with salt and preheat oven to 160 degrees. Place Olive Oil in a deep pot or oven dish and seal meat until golden brown on all sides. Roughly chop Onion and Shallots. Add to pot with Garlic Lemon zest, Oregano and White Wine. Cover the lamb with the yoghurt and drizzle with honey. Cover with foil and cook in oven for one hour or so. I like the meat to still be a little pink so an hour is about right for me. You need to check it after an hour because you may want it to be more well done.

Once cooked to your liking, remove the lamb from the pot/dish and allow to cool. Refrigerate for one hour then slice into thin strips. Place strips on a BBQ, grill on both sides then serve.

Strain the juices from the remaining onions in the pot and place onions in a bowl. Add finely sliced fennel and picked parsley leaves. Season to taste, drizzle with oil and serve with lamb.   

This tastes incredible and sometimes we eat it with crusty bread or sliced roast potatoes and usually with some crispy cos lettuce dressed with a good fruity olive oil, lemon juice and salt.