A slow-cooked lamb roast is the perfect antidote to a cold Winter’s Day, according to cooking school owner Vicki Peppos. Peppos should know as she is preparing to run a cooking class about the art of roasting meat.

“I knew that I had to add Greek lambs to it,” chuckles cooking teacher Vicki Peppos as she speaks of her upcoming cooking event, Zorba the Lamb.

Eager to share the Greek love affair of roasting, The Sweet Greek cooking kitchen founder will be running two roasting classes as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s The Roast Collection.

Peppos’ interactive cooking demonstrations will include three lamb roasts, a traditional Greek chicken roast and three wintry vegetable dishes: carrots with cumin and marjoram, roasted beetroot with feta cheese, and roasted leeks with apples, honey and aniseed.

“If you look historically, a lot of spices that we associate with Middle Eastern foods such as cumin were used in Ancient Greek recipes,” she points out.

Ethically conscious in her approach to food, Peppos has sourced her meat from Echuca based farm Lamb Direct, a company that not only takes care towards its livestock and the environment but delivers fresh, tender meat direct to her door.

“I am using a few cuts of lamb that people might not necessarily feel confident about roasting such as the neck of the lamb and the shoulder boned and de-boned,” she said.

Peppos will also focus in on region specific recipes such as Lamb Kleftiko from Santorini.

Otherwise known as Stolen Lamb, Peppos’ slightly tweaked Lamb Kleftiko recipe is a tummy warming roast of lamb neck, feta, hunks of bread, and fresh tomatoes.

In another dish, Peppos will stuff the top portion of a lamb leg with creamy and salty kefalograviera cheese, spinach, garlic, lemon zest, and wrap the leg in vine leaves.

“The vine leaves just give the dish a lemony tanginess and seals in the moisture while it cooks, and so in the end you’ve got this beautiful succulent lamb on the inside and this almost translucent vine leaf on the outside that’s crispy like a chip,” she says.

Whilst there is no right or wrong way of cooking a Greek inspired roast, Peppos acknowledges that roasting is an art that requires more than just throwing it in the oven, crossing your fingers, and looking at it 45 minutes later.

“Part of the challenge of roasting is trying to keep the meat moist and I find that a lot of Greeks overcook their lamb,” she says.

“You want to give the cut you’re using respect and overcooking and charring it to carbon is not doing that animal that died for your meal justice.

You’ve got to keep an eye on it, and cover it first so that it retains its juices, whether it’s with baking paper, or vine leaves.

“You have to know when to take off the parchment paper to its colour. Roasting time depends on the oven you’re using, whether it’s conventional or wood fire, which will take longer to cook.”

Peppos adds that a common mistake that people make when cooking a traditional kotopoulo and patates lemonades (Greek lemon roast chicken and potatoes) is placing it in the oven without any covering whatsoever.

“I believe it is important to cover it and then towards the end take off the cover to give it colour. Otherwise it might crisp and burn on the outside whilst the inside remains semi raw.”

She reveals that her must-have ingredient for a winning lamb roast is good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Peppos also highlights the importance of liberally salting the dish before cooking so that it penetrates through the meat, rather than sitting on the top.

The cut of meat is a personal choice, says Peppos.

“For me when the meat has been cooked on the bone it’s always a lot more enjoyable because you’ve got that bone element adding that flavour while you’re eating. However if you’re creating a stuffed meat dish, it’s easier to use de-boned meat as it will contain the stuffing more easily.”

Peppos will share more of her roasting secrets during the Zorba the Roast cooking classes on June 12 and 26. For more information visit www.thesweetgreek.com.au