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Vol. 26 · July 2026
A One-Pot Weeknight Journal Spice & Simmer Skillet · Stir-Fry · Sheet-Pan · Soup
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🍳 Sheet-Pan Dinners · Beef · Croatian

Croatian lamb peka

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026
Total time
53 min
Prep
19 min
Cook
34 min
Cleanup
1 pan
Croatian lamb peka

A one-pot Beef recipe with Croatian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 66 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C fan / 220°C / 425°F / Gas mark 7 If you have not bought diced lamb, cut your lamb shoulder or leg into large chunks and place to one side.
  2. Chunks of chopped lamb of a red chopping board Make oil marinade - Mix 80ml of olive oil in a bowl with garlic puree, sundried tomato puree ,black pepper and salt.
  3. olive oil, gia sundried tomato puree and gia garlic puree and black pepper mixed together in a silver bowl to make Croatian peka Add potatoes and vegetables into a large lidded casserole dish.
  4. Chopped up vegetables which consist of chopped up red onion, courgette, potatoes red peppers in a cast iron pan Place diced lamb on top of the vegetables, pour the marinade and wine over the top.
  5. Chunks of lamb covered in in a sundried tomato oil sauce which is on top of chopped red onion, aubergine, courgette and potatoes in a cast iron pan Add the rosemary, thyme and sage, trying to keep the herbs on top.
  6. So you can easily remove the herb stalks once cooked.
  7. Chunks of lamb coated in a sundried tomato oil sauce and covered with thyme, rosemary and sage which is on top of chopped red onion, aubergine, courgette and potatoes in a cast iron pan Place lid on the casserole dish and cook for 1hr 30 minute If you do not have a lid cover very well with kitchen foil Cast iron dish with lid on in the oven Take the lid off, remove any thick herb stems. Stir in 2 tbsp of olive oil.
  8. Cook for a further 20-30 mins.
  9. Cooked Croatian Lamb Peka in a cast iron pan in the oven Serve with fresh homemade bread to dip into the juices.

Why this works on a weeknight

Croatian lamb peka lands at about 53 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sheet-Pan Dinners collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Croatian lamb peka actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍳 Sheet-Pan Dinners Beef Croatian
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