Recipe: Lamb Peka

In Croatia, a widely favoured cooking tool is the "peka" – a generous metal baking dish crowned with a bell-shaped dome lid. Traditionally, this vessel is utilised to cook an array of ingredients, including meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, over an open fireplace. The magic lies in the even and slow cooking achieved by placing hot coals and embers on top of the dome. When the dish is ready, it is lovingly referred to as "peka" just like the vessel itself.

You can easily recreate this Lamb Peka at home using a covered cast iron casserole pan. If you do not have access to an open fire, cook the peka in the oven slowly on a low heat.

Recipe - Lamb Peka
Photo and recipe from sbs.com.au

Ingredients
2.5kg lamb (lamb shoulder with bone in, or leg)
1kg waxy potatoes, halved
2 onions, quartered
8 garlic cloves
1 tomato
1 small eggplant, halved
1 green capsicum
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise
3 rosemary sprigs
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine

Method
1. Build a hot crackling fire in a barbecue hearth and allow it to burn down to hot coals.
2. Place all ingredients, except the wine, in the peka dish. Cover with lid, place into prepared hearth and pile the hot coals on top of the dome.
3. Cook for 1 hour, remove peka from underneath the hot coals and remove lid. Using tongs, turn meat and vegetables, and add wine, then cover with lid and replace hot coals on top. Cook for a further 45 minutes or until meat is meltingly tender, and vegetables are soft.

Notes:
- If you don’t have a peka, you can cook this dish in a cast-iron casserole pan with a lid for 3½ hours at 160°C, and add all the wine at the start.
- Allow barbecue time to die down.