Mastelo

In Sifnos island the traditional Easter Sunday lamb or goat is not skewered, in contrast to most other parts of Greece. Instead, it is baked in a mastelo, from which it gets its name. Mastelo is a bucket-sized clay pot without a lid, where the meat is slowly baked at a comparatively low temperature.

We place 4-5 vine twigs crosswise at the bottom of the mastelo so as to create a “grill”, add a glass of red wine and various herbs and then the meat. We then cover the mastelo with aluminium foil and we let it bake for hours.