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This classic rustic dish is inspired by Andrea Antona’s Greek Cypriot origins and gets its name from the Kleftes, the Greek independence fighters of the 18th century who cooked the lamb in underground fires in their hillside hideouts.

They buried the whole lamb deep in the embers of the fire and covered it with earth so that the aromas of the meat and the smoke wouldn’t give them away.

Throughout Greece and Cyprus you’ll find hundreds of variations of Kleftico, using a mixture of wild thyme, oregano, bay, garlic and lemon with large bone-in pieces of lamb from the leg or shoulder. Some add tomatoes and other vegetables, others use slices of hard salty sheep’s milk cheeses like kefalotyri which is similar to pecorino.

The key to success with this dish is the slow cooking, whether it’s wrapped in foil or parchment parcels, cooked in the embers of a wood fired oven or barbecue or, like Andreas’ dad used to do, in a heavy casserole with a sheet of foil under the lid to prevent any steam escaping.

Andreas said: “My dad used shoulder of lamb, chopped into large individual portions, and cooked it with onions, bay leaves, oregano, salt and pepper and a dash of lager and water. It would cook for a minimum of two-and-a-half to three hours on a Sunday morning until the meat was virtually falling off the bone.”

Kleftico was one of the first dishes Andreas added to the Simpsons menu when he first opened in 1993 and it has undergone numerous make-overs over the years, its rustic heritage somewhat gentrified in keeping with the restaurant’s Michelin-starred status. But as Andreas points out, the principle of long slow cooking remains the same. And in this recipe, the lamb shanks benefit from a day’s resting in their fragrant cooking liquor before being finished off in the oven the following day.

The Swiss chard is another ingredient which features in Cypriot home cooking and most commonly is cooked with the new crop of black eyed beans in spring. You can use either dried beans soaked overnight or a tin of cooked beans that have been drained and rinsed.

Andreas says: “Simmer the two together in salted water until the chard is tender then drain and dress with lemon and good quality olive oil. It makes a delicious warm salad served alongside a really good tomato and onion salad, some olives and sourdough bread.”