In an attempt to get more (or at least some) order in my life and balance family, study, blogging, a wedding and a new relationship, I’ve been using my slow cooker for just about every meal these last few months. In fact, most of my meal planning incorporates the slow cooker. As well as being the perfect appliance for heart warming stews in winter, it is perfect for the warmer months as it won’t heat up the kitchen but it will cook a joint of meat, such as this lamb, just perfectly. This is how I cook lamb all the time. I’ve shared this Free Form Lamb & Potato Pie before plus using the lamb in wraps, but I thought I’d share the recipe on it’s own and how you can make the perfect sauce made with the juices.

It really couldn’t be any easier than throwing as many cloves of garlic you like in the bottom of the slow cooker (skin and all), place the lamb on top, sprinkle on oregano, salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil. That’s it! Just leave it to do it’s thing.

Once cooked, retrieve the garlic cloves and squeeze out the garlic. It’ll be soft like butter.

This delicious squishy mush will be used in the sauce for the meat. Put the meat aside to rest while you make the gravy.

Pour the juices into a saucepan and carefully skim off any excess fat. Make a paste from 2 tablespoons of flour with water until a smooth paste forms. Add this to the juices from the lamb and over a medium heat, stir until thickened. Adjust seasonings if required. Return the roasted garlic to the gravy.

The lamb may not be as crispy as if you cooked it in the oven but the meat will fall off the bone and be so full of flavour.

Serve with vegetables of your choice and besides the above recipes for using up the leftover lamb, stay tuned for another tasty recipe to come. Make use of your slow cooker as much as you can. Your evening meal is prepped in the morning, cooking all day which makes your job a lot easier come dinner time.

Slow Cooker Greek Lamb with Garlic Sauce

• leg or shoulder of lamb
• 5-6 cloves of garlic (no need to peel)
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

Garlic Sauce (Gravy)

• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• enough water to form a smooth paste
• juices and garlic from the lamb

1. In a slow cooker, place 5 to 6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled.
2. Place the joint of lamb on top of the garlic and sprinkle with the oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil.
3. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
4. Once cooked, set the lamb aside and retrieve the garlic cloves, squeezing the soft garlic from the garlic peel.
5. Pour the juices from the lamb into a saucepan and carefully skim off any excess oil.
6. Make a smooth paste from the flour and water and add to the sauce pan with the soft garlic. (If you don’t have enough juices from the lamb add 1 cup of stock.)
7. Stir over a medium heat until sauce is thickened.
8. Serve with vegetables of your choice.