Kleftiko (Patriot's Roast Lamb)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Put all the ingredients in a heatproof glass dish or ceramic pot that has a cover. You may also choose to seal the top with aluminum foil. Bake in a 250 degrees F oven for 4 to 5 hours.

Uncover and serve hot immediately.

NOTE: This dish originated during the eighteenth century when Greek patriots under the Turkish occupation hid out and prepared their food in the hills. They dug a hole in the ground in which they fitted a clay pot known as a pithari.

The lamb and other ingredients were put in the pot, which was covered tightly. Hot charcoal bricks were placed below and above the pot, which was covered with earth and the contents baked for a number of hours, well concealed from the Turkish troops.

Nowadays this simple, nourishing pot roast can be reproduced in an oven with very slow cooking.