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.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 41-60

  • Binder photo Caroline

    21 November 2008

    Caroline rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    I thought this dish tasted a bit weird, not really my cup of tea. I think it was the taste of cinnamon with the chunks of lamb-and the orzo was quite starchy. I had really high expectations of this but I wont be cooking again.

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  • Binder photo barney123

    06 January 2009

    barney123 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This recipe is a real winner. Delicious.

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  • Binder photo Trish

    07 January 2009

    Trish commented on this recipe

    Found it ! After hours on the internet I've found Orzo by mail order from www.wallysdeli.co.uk. (recommended by the Daily Telegraph to someone who had written in asking where they could get it ). Too late for my planned supper party so I'll try some of your other suggestions and if I like the dish I'll order some. p.s. Don't tell anyone...I don't want them to run out before I put my order in !

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  • Binder photo VikkiBriggs86

    07 January 2009

    VikkiBriggs86 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    If your looking for Orzo rice use the website oilandmore.co.uk They sell it, it's called Grana di Riso 500g. Yum Yum YUM! my favourite dish from Greece by far!

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  • Binder photo grungle

    14 January 2009

    grungle commented on this recipe

    I make this quite a bit at home (was taught how to make it by hubby's greek family) - I have found that I actually prefer it with diced beef rather than the lamb! Also, I cook it in a clay pot in the oven for about 2 hours, boil the orzo on the hob with onions, and then add that to the meat & sauce in the clay pot, put back in the oven for 10 mins for the orzo to absorb some of the sauce, and it's sooo good with some crusty bread!

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  • Binder photo Eileen

    15 January 2009

    Eileen commented on this recipe

    I first tasted this recipe in Rhodes many years ago and have been making it ever since. Everyone I've cooked it for loves it. If you live in the London area you can get Orzo (also called Puntaletta) from Greek or Italian deli's - I get mine from Lina Stores in Brewer Street.

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  • Binder photo Lacath

    19 January 2009

    Lacath rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    i made it yesterday and it was absolutely delicious. At first as i was preparing the ingredients i was scared, so much cinnamon... As it was cooking in the oven, the smell was so powerful i got more and more scared : much too much cinnamon... And finally, il was so perfect in the mouth... The orzo i used is called "avoinette" in French. i also saw it called "risoni". A 5-star casserole indeed! Cath

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  • Binder photo Alexandra

    20 January 2009

    Alexandra rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    delicious, used bone in cubes of lamb for extra authenticity, and cooked it in the slow cooker for 3 hours on high.

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  • Binder photo gill

    26 January 2009

    gill commented on this recipe

    YOU CAN GET ORZO EASILY THROUGH THE RICK STEINS SHOP WEB SITE . NOT ALOT FOR POSTAGE EITHER COMPARED TO SOME OTHER FOOD WEBSITES

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  • Binder photo Jenna

    01 February 2009

    Jenna rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very nice, kids loved it.

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  • Binder photo KissyB

    06 February 2009

    KissyB commented on this recipe

    Made this for Mother-in-Law and Brother-in-Law and his wife a couple of days after my Father-in-Law's funeral as we needed cheering up a bit. Used tiny soup pasta as I couldn't get orzo, but think I put it in too soon as it was a bit stodgy. Still, it was absolutely delicious and everybody loved it. Served it with the salad as recommended - fantastic!!!

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  • Binder photo WINETASTER15

    07 February 2009

    WINETASTER15 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    For a family of fussy eaters, this went down really well. Easy to make and filling. I used lamb fillet, which has much less fat content than shoulder. Only problem now is getting hold of Orzo - my local Tesco's no longer stocks it.

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  • Binder photo KAZ

    26 February 2009

    KAZ rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very easy to make and very tasty, the flavour seemed to deepen when cooked the day before. Couldn't get hold of any Orzo so used Risotto rice and used too much, couldn't see the lamb for the rice. Have managed to get some Orzo so will make it again this weekend.

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  • Binder photo kate

    04 March 2009

    kate commented on this recipe

    Absolutely gorgeous..I should have made more!!!!!! I used small pasta shapes and it worked really well. Cant wait to have it again.

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  • Binder photo Andrew

    09 March 2009

    Andrew rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Loved this- the meat was really tender and benefited from the slow cooking- although next time I might reduce the amount of orzo. i simply couldnt fit any more than 1/2 a litre of stock in my biggest casserole with everything else so although the orzo cooked it didn't leave a lot of residual sauce. The cinnamon was not too overpowering And there was plenty left over for the next day

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  • Binder photo Erica

    26 March 2009

    Erica rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was really nice. i made it for mothers day and everyone cleared their plates. couldn't find orzo anywhere, and found it difficult to track down any simular products to i used risotto rice. the was so tender, it just fell apart which was lovely, but i found the rice a bit heavy and stodgy. Next time i would definately try with orzo, but it was still very yummy!

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  • Binder photo mssteel

    31 March 2009

    mssteel rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I added chopped garlic and chilly flakes to mine and the result was scrumptuous.

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  • Binder photo catrov

    04 April 2009

    catrov commented on this recipe

    Made it for my family on Mother's Day. Found the Orzo (eventually) at a local deli. Tasted fantastic - even my fussy brother loved it. Had some left over, and I agree, it tasted even better re-heated the next day in the microwave. Will be making this again!

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  • Binder photo CazStanley

    10 April 2009

    CazStanley commented on this recipe

    Made this for our Greek Night. It was delicious. There's a fantastic website - rizosonline.co.uk where you can get tonnes of speciality greek goodies, and they were very helpful!! Will definitely be making this again.

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  • Binder photo CazStanley

    18 April 2009

    CazStanley rated this recipe

    5 stars

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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
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Per serving

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

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