Sifnos Recipe
Mastelo
Easter lamb cooked in a clay vessel with red wine and dill, on a bed of vine twigs.
Cooking time
5 hours (mostly unattended)
Serves
6
Mastelo is both the pot and the dish. Goat or lamb is washed in wine, laid on vine twigs so it is not sitting in a stew, covered with dill, and slow-baked until it falls apart. The vessel is wider than a skepastaria. The twigs make a rack. Wine and dill do the rest. It is the Easter lunch of Sifnos, not a random lamb special.
Holy Saturday night is when the pots go in. Easter Sunday is when they come out. Book the taverna; this is a reservation, not a walk-in. Some kitchens still cook it out of season if you ask. Goat and lamb both appear — ask which one is in the oven that day.
If you only eat one meat dish on the island, this is the one Sifnos actually invented a reputation on. The pot is still thrown here; the pottery trail is the same story. A cooking class will run it if you want the method. Sunday chickpeas are the other clay-pot meal: revithada. Easter also means melopita, the honey pie.
Ingredients
- •2kg lamb or goat shoulder, on the bone, cut into chunks
- •1 large bunch fresh dill
- •Vine shoots or grape leaves to line the pot
- •300ml dry red wine
- •2 tsp coarse salt
- •Olive oil to drizzle
Preparation
- 1.Line a clay mastelo (or Dutch oven) with vine shoots or grape leaves.
- 2.Layer the meat with chopped dill and salt.
- 3.Pour the red wine over and drizzle with olive oil.
- 4.Seal the lid (with bread dough if oven-safe).
- 5.Bake at 140°C for 4–5 hours, until the meat falls apart.
Where to try it
To Liotrivi or Lembesis, Easter weekend.
To Liotrivi or Lembesis on Easter weekend is the usual booking. Confirm goat or lamb. Out of season, telephone; do not assume it is on the printed card. This is a long lunch with wine, not a meze plate.
Frequently asked questions
The clay vessel and the dish cooked in it: lamb or goat on vine twigs, red wine and dill, slow-baked until the meat falls apart. Sifnos Easter lunch.
Easter is when every village cooks it. Some tavernas will make it in summer if you book. Holy Saturday night is still the honest date.
Both. Families use what they have. Ask the kitchen. Goat is common on Sifnos; lamb is what visitors expect.
To Liotrivi or Lembesis are the names this page uses for Easter weekend. Book. A harbour grill with “lamb kleftiko” is not the same dish.
About four to five hours in a moderate oven, mostly unattended, after a short prep. The vine twigs and the seal matter more than stirring.
A heavy Dutch oven works. Line it with grape leaves or vine shoots if you have them. The island version is the thrown pot; the method travels.
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