Elbasan tava is made by pouring a yogurt-and-egg sauce over boiled lamb and baking it. As the sauce cooks, it puffs up into a golden, soufflé-like topping. Temperature is critical: the sauce will curdle if poured over hot meat, so let the meat cool before baking.
Cut the lamb shoulder into 4 cm pieces and bring to a boil with cold water, a whole onion and salt. Skim off the foam and simmer for 50 minutes, until the meat pulls apart into strands. Drain the meat and reserve the cooking liquid.
Once cooled, remove the bones and cartilage from the meat, pull it into large pieces and spread it in a single layer in a greased baking dish.
Whisk the yogurt, eggs, flour, salt and black pepper until smooth. The flour coats the yogurt proteins and helps prevent the sauce from curdling in the oven; without it, the sauce will not hold together in the pan.
Spread the yogurt sauce evenly over the meat, drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with Turkish red pepper flakes.
Bake in an oven preheated to 190°C / 375°F for 30–35 minutes. It is ready when the surface puffs and turns golden, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve with a spoon.
After draining the boiled meat, let it cool for 15 minutes. If the yogurt sauce is poured over hot meat, it will curdle immediately and will not puff up in the oven.
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