Greek lamb with orzo

Greek lamb with orzo

Entertaining doesn't have to equal stress, this spruced up one-pot is perfect for people with little time for preparation

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 35 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Cut the lamb into 4cm chunks, then spread over the base of a large, wide casserole dish. Add the onions, oregano, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon and olive oil, then stir well. Bake, uncovered, for 45 mins, stirring halfway.
  2. Pour over the chopped tomatoes and stock, cover tightly, then return to the oven for 1½ hrs, until the lamb is very tender.
  3. Remove the cinnamon sticks, then stir in the orzo. Cover again, then cook for a further 20 mins, stirring halfway through. The orzo should be cooked and the sauce thickened. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve with crusty bread.
Try

To freeze

Freeze at the end of step 2. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then return to the casserole and bring slowly to the boil. Add a little water if it looks dry. Stir in the orzo, cover and bake for 20 mins.

Know-how: Orzo

The Italian word orzo means barley. When cooked, it has a texture similar to risotto rice. Look for it in the specialist sections of supermarkets, or in Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern delis. It can go by a variety of other names including puntaletti and romarino. If you can't find it, use another small pasta, like trofie.

Mary says...

Relaxed, easy entertaining is always top of my list. Simply put the dish in the centre of the table for everyone to help themselves. Add some good crusty bread and side salad, and you have a real feast

Fancy a side dish?

Olive, caper & feta salad: Tear 1 romaine lettuce into a large bowl. Scatter over 1 thinly sliced small red onion, ½ cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks, a good handful of kalamata olives and 2 tbsp capers. Whisk together 1 tbsp red wine vinegar with 3 tbsp olive oil, drizzle over, then top with 100g crumbled feta.

Per serving

696 kcalories, protein 40g, carbohydrate 58g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 4g, sugar 7g, salt 0.68 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2008.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

Results 101-120

  • Binder photo d41d0y

    13 November 2010

    d41d0y commented on this recipe

    Oh yes and instead of orzo I used risoni pasta!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo emsily

    21 November 2010

    emsily rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    this is a fab recipe, we discovered it a few weeks ago and have made it 5 times already! tesco world food aisle has orzo, gotta use that as the texture is amazing

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Emily Jefferson

    28 November 2010

    Emily Jefferson rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really lovely dish. I fried the onions and browned the meat before starting. Next time I might use powdered cinnamon so the kids aren't spitting bits of stick out! Enjoyed by all this is going to become a standby dish for weekend family or entertaining.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo sigrid

    22 December 2010

    sigrid commented on this recipe

    I think there some confusion here: orzo is indeed italian for barley, but from the picture you can clearly see that it's not about barley, but about greek pasta (yes, greeks have pasta, and it has the shape of rice-grains, just as the ones in the picture), and this very kind of pasta, in Italy, is sometimes called 'risoni' and sometimes they call it 'orzo' (oh, look, how strange...?! :-)) So I think you should use greek pasta in stead of barley, I'll try it tonight.. :-)

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Mary Cadogan

    03 February 2011

    Mary Cadogan commented on this recipe

    There seems to be a lot of confusion about the orzo. It is a tiny rice shaped pasta which is also called puntaletti, rosmarino, risoni or misko. It's worth looking in any ethnic food shops for it, especially Italian or Middle Eastern grocers, as it's worth the hunt. Other small pasta shapes also work well but there's nothing quite like the silky, slightly slippery texture of orzo. Bon appetit everyone, I'm so glad you like the recipe! mary cadogan

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo tomato

    05 February 2011

    tomato commented on this recipe

    very easy dish, smelt lovely and tasted even better. Asda sell the orzo for around £1.85 as not all tesco stock it. will definitely make this again as my 6 year old loved it. I added chopped swede and carrot into it to get extra vegetables. :)

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Ans

    05 February 2011

    Ans commented on this recipe

    This was delicious and really easy to make. Also I added crushed garlic and bay leaves at the beginning.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo sarahjj

    06 February 2011

    sarahjj rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Really nice family dish, but would use a little less cinnamon next time. It tasted better the next day with feta crumbled over the top.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Amanda Alexander

    06 February 2011

    Amanda Alexander commented on this recipe

    Before I cooked this I read the reviews and couldn't believe it would be as easy as it sounded or taste as good as everyone said. However, it was even easier and even tastier than I hoped. And Orzo is a brilliant new discovery - I can see myself adding it to multiple recipes and obviating the need to cook separate rice/spuds/pasta.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo tamylucy

    12 February 2011

    tamylucy commented on this recipe

    Just making this recipe. Sounds really nice. I will let you know how it tastes. Found barley in Tesco

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo DS

    20 February 2011

    DS rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made and recommended this recipe a lot since finding it. I usually stick to using lamb however today I'm going to try beef as one of the other reviewers suggested. Hopefully it will be as good as ever

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Philippa

    03 March 2011

    Philippa commented on this recipe

    This was a great hit in our house. I fried the meat to seal and also fried the onions lightly before putting in the oven. I think this added to the dish. Will certainly make this again. I got my orzo at Waitrose.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo LittleAnga

    22 March 2011

    LittleAnga commented on this recipe

    My aunty in greece makes this and I would say this tastes better! love it. Didn�t use the cinnamon tho and used leg of lamb instead of shoulder. Any shop that sells world foods should have orzo, ask if not sure as the pack i bought didn�t actually say orzo on it as it was all in Greek.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo natvy

    06 April 2011

    natvy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Lovely! Lamb was very tender....yum!!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Jenie

    11 April 2011

    Jenie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolute fave dish ever! Have made it a number of times, always for 'dinner parties' and it goes down such a treat! There really isn't a simpler supper to serve. I usually do steps 1 and 2 the day before I need it, refrigerate over night and then simply bring back to a boil and complete step 3. I do find the Orzo tends to need about double the cooking time though. I get mine from Waitrose. We serve with crusty ciabatta and a simple feta salad, the feta really compliments the sweet taste of the cinnamon. Wonderful!!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo debra

    16 April 2011

    debra commented on this recipe

    my sister used risotto rice instead of orzo pasta as recommended in one of the reviews-BIG mistake! It completely ruined the dish and turned into a dried - up disaster

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Newbalhammum

    08 May 2011

    Newbalhammum rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Did for dinner with friends... Great because they were an hour late so could just cook up to the end of step 2 and then finish off. Needs an extra 5-10 mins if not piping hot when you add the pasta. Yum.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo annao

    08 May 2011

    annao rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Made this last night but wth risotto rice as Tesco did not have any orzo. I was very dissapointed tasted quite bland and look more like a risotto than the picture. It needed a lot of salt.... However it was really easy to do so i will try it again if i come across some orzo as i think perhaps this dish doesn't work with risotto rice?

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo muthahuffa

    28 May 2011

    muthahuffa rated this recipe

    5 stars

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Doris

    01 June 2011

    Doris commented on this recipe

    Have made this a dozen times at least and it turns out perfect everytime...without doubt a family favourite! I serve with suggested salad, warmed pitta bread and yoghurt and mint dip...so delicious and easy to make.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 35 mins

Freezable

Melt-in-the-mouth lamb

Ingredients

  • 1kg shoulder of lamb
  • 2 onions , sliced
  • 1 tbsp chopped oregano , or 1 tsp dried
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 cinnamon sticks , broken in half
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1.2l hot chicken or vegetable stock
  • 400g orzo (see know-how below)
  • freshly grated parmesan , to serve
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

Per serving

696 kcalories, protein 40g, carbohydrate 58g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 4g, sugar 7g, salt 0.68 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
  • You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close