I made this dish last Sunday and if it weren’t for the fact that I’m making Prime Rib today, I’d probably be having this entire meal again. One of the best things about Sunday dinner is that you have lots of time. There’s no real pressure, you can leisurely cook, open a bottle of wine and enjoy your afternoon knowing that a fabulous dinner awaits.
For this dish I used some bone-in goat meat. Goat is similar to lamb but it’s leaner. I marinaded the goat and then slow-roasted it until the meat turned to a deep brown colour that was tender to the fork and flaky and moist inside.
As an accompaniment, I made a scalloped potato dish using some Greek flavours like roasted red peppers and my home concoction of Kopanisti. Kopanisti is a smooth, briny cheese that has a mild “blue cheese” flavour to it and it’s made in the Cyclades islands. I had some blue cheese left in my fridge and the flavours melded well with the red peppers, potatoes and Bechamel.
The vegetable portion of the meal were some roasted Brussels sprouts. A friend of the family that hails from Laconia (Sparta) had brought back some “Siglino”. Siglino is a cured and smoked pork that first gets coated in coarse sea salt and then marinated in red wine and spices. Afterwards, the pork is smoked for two days and preserved in pork fat.
I wish I could source this stuff here in Canada, but I know this to be wishful thinking. A thick slab of smoked pork or bacon would also work well here.
There you have it…a wonderful and well-rounded Sunday meal. When choosing the goat or lamb…make sure it’s “bone-in”. The Kopanisti aspect of the potato dish can be simulated with blue cheese and red peppers and the Brussels sprouts classic is transformed into a wonderful side, using Siglino (cured pork), Greek honey and fresh thyme leaves.
Slow-Roasted Goat With Scalloped Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts
(serves 4)
1 kg. of goat meat (bone-in), cut into chops (lamb is fine)
Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. of cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp of fennel seeds, ground
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. of paprika
1 small onion (1/2 cup) grated onion
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp. of fresh ground black pepper
—————————————————————————————————
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 sprig of rosemary
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
a couple of whole heads of garlic, tops sliced off
dried Greek oregano for garnish and lemon wedges
Scalloped Potatoes With Roasted Red Pepper and Blue Cheese
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thinly with a mandoline
1 roasted red pepper, peeled and seeded and chopped
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/4 cup of warm milk
2 heaping Tbsp. of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves
sat and pepper to taste
Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Siglino and Greek Honey
1 lb. of fresh Brussel sprouts, outer leaves peeled and halved
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1/3 cup Siglino (or cured slab bacon/pork), diced
1 Tbsp. of Greek honey
4 Tbsp. olive oil (approx 1/8 cup)
salt and pepper to taste
- Rinse and pat-dry your your goat and set aside. In a large bag, add all of your marinade ingredients into a large zip-lock bag and mix until blended. Have a taste and adjust accordingly (salt will be added later).
- Marinade for 4 hours and return to room temperature before roasting. Pre-heat your oven to 350F and season your goat with coarse sea salt and some more ground black pepper. Place the goat + marinade, the bay leaf, rosemary, wine, stock, heads of garlic and sliced onions on top of the meat and into a Dutch oven or roasting pan with cover. Place in your pre-heated oven (covered) for an hour & half to two hours. Occasionally check if your liquid has evaporated. Add some more stock (1 cup) if necessary. Your meat is ready when it turns to a deep brown colour and it easily separates from the bone.
- In the meantime, wash your potatoes and slice them thinly (I recommend a mandoline). On this occasion, I left the skins on. Reserve.
- On to making a Bechamel. In a medium-sized pot, add your olive oil over medium heat and add your flour. Stir the flour the flour with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Add your warm milk and garlic while stirring and increase the heat to medium. Continue to stir until the mixture thicken to a creamy texture. Add the roasted red peppers and crumbled Blue cheese and continue to stir until the cheese has amalgamated. Season with some salt and pepper. Take off the heat and keep warm.
- Take a medium-sized casserole dish and spread enough Bechamel to cover the bottom. Lay out a layer of potato slices (slightly overlapping) and then some sliced onions, a little salt and pepper and some thyme. Add another layer of Bechamel and repeat process until your ingredients are complete. Cover with foil and place in your oven (along with goat) about 1 hour into the goat’s roasting time.
- In the meantime, rinse your Brussel sprouts and then remove the outer leaves (one layer is fine). Now slice the stem (underside) of each sprout off and then cut them in half. Place in another baking vessel and reserve.
- In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, add your diced Siglino (smoked pork) and the sliced onions and saute for about 5-7 minutes or until the pork has crisped up and the onions are translucent (add some olive oil if too dry).
- Transfer the pork and onions into the baking vessel with your sprouts and add the honey, the olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat the sprouts and also place in your oven along with the goat and scalloped potatoes (1 hour into goat’s roasting time).
- Remove the Brussel sprouts when they are fork-tender and slightly caramelized (should take about 45 minutes).
- Around the time your goat is cooked, take the cover (or foil) off the potatoes and allow the top to turn golden-brown (about 15 minutes). Remove potatoes from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Divide the goat meat and spoon some pan juices over the meat. Sprinkle with dried Greek oregano and serve with some slow-roasted garlic (delicious smeared on the meat), a wedge of lemon and a helping of scalloped potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
- Serve with a Vaeni of Naoussa Syrah.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at https://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
46 Responses
Your roasted goat looks crunchy and perfectly cooked and the Brussels sprouts with siglino must taste heavenly.
One word, exquisite!(Una parola,Squisito)
The US needs to eat more goat. Always have loved it.
Can you please move in next door? Pretty please?
I haven’t had goat since Jamaica…but then again there was that time that we were at a home on the island of Kea..it was to be lamb, but it was a goat farm…so we need to do the math there. Needless to say it was tender and melted off the bone.
Peter, this is fantastic and looks delicious. I’ve actually purchased some goat this week. I’m looking forward to possibly trying this out.
Wow!!
What a dish Peter!!!
De-li-ci-ous!!!!!!
That looks so scrumptious! A sumptuous meal!
Cheers,
Rosa
Love Sunday dinner for this reason! We were going to do beef ribs in Guinness but instead pizza has won.
Awesome job and now where can I find goat…..
What a great idea for goat meat. Where I live, goat meat is very popular but I have yet to cook them. My tendency is to just order from the restaurants. But this one seems easy, I’ve got to try. Thanks.
I only ate goat once and it was street food that wasn’t very good. You could make shoe leather look delicious, as this goat dish does, not to mention those luscious potatoes.
Yum I lurve all aspects of this dish. Goat is truly delicious and I miss having it the Greek way. Never tried that Spartan cured ham before… will have to look out for it next time I’m in the patrida.
That’s an incredible Sunday feast! The scalloped potatoes look amazing. I’d love to try Kopanisti.
Wonderful dish. I never had goat before. Love the way you do your scalloped potatoes.
I’ve never tried cooking goat before, but after seeing this, I’m tempted to run out to the latin american butcher next weekend and pick up some goat.
What a magnificent meal! I love the sound of that cured pork – I must try to get it here.
What a beautiful Sunday roast!
what an awesome plate of food. good heavens, it looks like it’d satisfy any human being. the scalloped potatoes are definitely my favorite, but i’ve never tried making them with blue cheese. duly noted.
This is such a fabulous looking meal! I’d have to have seconds of those potatoes :)
Look at that absolutely delicious and tender meat! Marvelous Peter!
Food looks great of course. But I love your long thin plate! I must find me some!
I’d prefer lamb to goat. I just can’t enjoy the aroma of goat. I’ve tried. Those sprouts are to die for. And the potatoes. In fact I would be completely happy with the sides on this one! The flavours….
That looks and sounds amazing.
Regarding goats:
Once, when visiting our friends, their goat caused some damage to our car by climbing all over it. Later that year we roasted that goat on a spit. I wasn’t feeling vengeful anymore, but that goat was delicious.
My family would love this dinner. :)
my husband would die for this kind of meal – slow-roasted meat is our favorite way of cooking the sunday roast too
goat is also more highly regarded than lamb in crete
Nothing like a good “katsikaki” for a Sunday meal. Pure perfection Peter…especially those Brussels sprouts.
O my… I’ve only once had goat before and it didn’t go in well. I was in Portugal at the time for work and we were in a traditional small Portuguese restaurant where they served sort of the entire goat… I did not like it at all and it’s not something you can find here. Or at least I haven’t seen goat at the butcher here… :) It does look lovely though and might have me try it again when I come across it at a restaurant!
That goat looks so tender and good! What a great meal!
I’ve only had goat in stews but this looks lovely. Send some leftovers my way! :)
WOW!! I am drooling! no kiddin’!
In Lebanon mountain folks eat goats all the time, maybe that is why I was never all that keen on it (especially because I would see them slaughter it for their Sunday picnic) . Your post makes it look very appealing!
Quick question: My dad grew up with a Greek cook who taught him her language and gave him a lifelong devotion to her macaroni-in-the-oven specialty encased in a homemade phyllo dough. I would LOVE to make him that dish when I visit next week. Would you know the name of the dish and (or) a recipe or source for it? Many thanks in advance!
Joumana, it sounds like a Makaronopita aka Macaroni pie. I do not have a recipe yet on my blog but you can do a search for one. I believe the cookbook Vefa’s Kitchen has a recipe in there. Bon chance!
i think i’d have to (lovingly) disagree that lamb and goat are similar. maybe texturally but flavor-wise, I don’t thin they are close. maybe i’ve only eaten goat jamaican and haitian-style, but i find it much gamier than lamb. i do love it lots. i’ve had goat in the freezer for while – you’ve reminded me to bust that out! i like the simplicity of your dish.
Amy & Jonny, If comparing a goat and a lamb at the same age, I would say the lamb is gamier. An older goat will be gamier than lamb or, the diet could determine the taste. Regardless, I adore both meats, glad you do too!
I’d be happy to pull a chair up to that table. Simply a great looking dinner.
oh myyy….nowww where do i get goat in hk…i’ll search around, i am sure it is there somewhere. totally love goat/lamb
The goat really does look tender. I have never thought to cook it at home. What a great Sunday dinner!
Serious wow!
I LOVE goat… I order goat tostadas all the time at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. I really need to call around the grocery stores in that neighborhood to figure out where I can buy some. It seems like it would be a much more sustainable meat than beef or pork.
I actually prefer goat over lamb. This looks amazing, cooked perfectly. I have never made homemade scalloped potatoes but this recipe is really tempting. I love scalloped potatoes. Have to give it a whirl :)
The perfect Sunday meal! Every part better than the next!
Love the sound of Siglino. I’ve never eaten goat but your meal looks amazing!
I really like the potatoes with peppers and blue cheese. Yum!
I don’t get much goat where I live. I would have to go out of my way to buy it or make it myself an and not too many restaurants serve it. That means I don’t get much chance to try it. Fortunately, the Indian restaurant down the street started including a goat curry in the Sunday buffet. I am ADDICTED. How did I go this long in my life without eating goat?
Your potato dish looks screen-licking good.
You know what…When I was in Indonesia, I didn’t relish goats. Ate them only at special occasions. Somehow, my taste buds changed since I moved to Canada. I always like goat and lamb :))
I should try your recipe one day.
I didn’t know what to do with the goat my friend had given to me. I kept delaying fixing it until I figured out what in the world I would do with it. Well, my refrigerator/freezer died; thus, no more delaying. I came across your post while researching a recipe. Goats in the oven! Potatoes too! I don’t have Brussel sprouts at the moment. Sautéed Swiss chard will have to do. :) I will let you know how it all turns out! Thanks!
I am going to try this set of recipes next weekend! I have had a small goat roast for a while, just because I picked up an interesting cut of meat… I have had goat before, but usually covered in some curry sauce. This is a little more ‘el natural! Looking forward to trying it!