Croatian Peka

Before You Start

Seal the lid well.

Do not open the oven during the covered cooking.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

Making Croatian Peka

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F (150°C / 300°F fan). Spread the onions in the base of a large, heavy casserole.

   Mark done

2. Lay the lamb on the onions, tuck in the garlic and rosemary and season with half the salt and pepper.

   Mark done

3. Arrange the potatoes and carrots around and on top. Season with the remaining salt and pepper, drizzle with the oil and pour in the wine.

   Mark done

4. Cover with the lid, seal the gap with foil, and cook for 2 hours 10 minutes without opening.

   Mark done Start 2 hr timer

5. Remove the lid, raise the oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C / 355°F fan) and cook for 20 minutes until browned on top.

   Mark done Start 20 min timer

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

Why It Works

In Dalmatia, a peka is a heavy iron dome that is placed over a dish of meat and vegetables in a wood fire, and covered with hot embers. The food cooks slowly in its own steam and in the smoke, and comes out so tender that it falls apart under a spoon. A home oven and a heavy lidded casserole come surprisingly close.

The ingredients are plain: lamb shoulder or veal on the bone, waxy potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, rosemary and olive oil. White wine goes in, and nothing else. No stock, no water. The vegetables sit under the meat and absorb its fat as it melts, so they cook in the richest juices. Don't add more liquid than a glass of wine. The meat releases plenty of its own.

Layer the onions on the base, then the meat, then the potatoes and carrots, and drizzle everything with olive oil. Cover the dish with its lid, and seal the gap with a strip of foil. Bake at 170°C / 340°F for 2 hours 30 minutes, without opening.

To finish, remove the lid for the last 20 minutes, raise the oven to 200°C / 390°F and let the top brown. Bring the dish to the table and serve straight from it.

Storage and Reheating

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat in a covered dish.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Good With

• Green salad
• Crusty bread
• Red wine
• Pickled peppers

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Shopska Salad.

Croatian Peka Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high. The calories include 3 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.