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 61-80

  • Binder photo wilko

    05 May 2009

    wilko rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I browned the lamb and onions in a little bit of olive oil first. I thought it was a little bland so I added a splash of white wine and a teaspoon of mint sauce before the orzo stage. It turned out to be a really nice wholesome mid week supper. I had never used orzo before but both of us were impressed.

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  • Binder photo Liz

    13 May 2009

    Liz commented on this recipe

    This recipe is fantastic. We first had it served to us by a friend who gave me the recipe - (I have since subscribed to the good food mag!) so easy and tasty. I have found it very had to find orzo except online in large quantities and high postage costs, so I have substituted it with small sized pasta. Great slow cooker meal aswell which can be made in advance and stored to finish by putting in the pasta later. Marvellous!

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  • Binder photo louis

    17 May 2009

    louis rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo rose water

    25 May 2009

    rose water rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo DebbyS

    01 June 2009

    DebbyS rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Really tasty, but made it in advance & so during the waiting the orzo seemed to soak up all of the liquid, so too much pasta, not enough meat. Will put less orzo in it in future. The accompanying salad though was really good! For those struggling with finding orzo, I live in New Zealand & it is sold as Risoni in my local supermarket.

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  • Binder photo teresag1963

    07 June 2009

    teresag1963 commented on this recipe

    I really enjoyed this the lamb was so tender. There was far too much orzo, next time I would halve the amount for sure. I will definately make this again but with 200g of orzo.

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  • Binder photo teresag1963

    07 June 2009

    teresag1963 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Kerry

    22 July 2009

    Kerry rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    We loved it! Very tasty. I chucked in some red pepper for extra veg, but most veg would work.

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  • Binder photo Ginny

    24 July 2009

    Ginny commented on this recipe

    This is a great recipe, so tasty and easy. Used trofie first time as couldn't find orzo, just as nice. Found orzo on a eastern med market stall. Firm favourite for summer family meals outside, with crusty bread. Everyone just digs in.

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  • Binder photo Evelyn

    17 August 2009

    Evelyn rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Fantastic - my whole family (includes 1 year old and 5 year old boys) loved it. I did it in my slow cooker all day (7 hours: high then low - I halved the amount of stock, as slow cookers retain so much moisture, and I added the tomatoes & stock after about 3 hours, and the Orzo for the last 30 mins). Only thing I might do differently is to add some more veg next time (maybe courgettes or celery) in order to try and increase vegetable intake around here. Otherwise fabulous though.

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  • Binder photo BBC Recipes

    31 August 2009

    BBC Recipes commented on this recipe

    Used fresh rosemary instead of oregano as this is perfect with lamb. Also added garlic, carrots and leeks with the (fresh) tomatoes and used lamb stock cube as this really enhances the flavour. Served with a Greek salad - a perfect dish to grace any dinner table and all in one pot. 5 stars. Liz currently living in Turkey.

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  • Binder photo Jo Ryan

    03 September 2009

    Jo Ryan rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I went to three tesco's and couldn't find orzo but used rice, barley and spelt mixture. I also tasted half way thro and decided it needed more oregano and cinammon and lots of seasoning. I cooked for three hours on 140 and it really was nice. Lots of great comments. good recipe.

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  • Binder photo JR

    04 October 2009

    JR commented on this recipe

    My partner had a similar dish in a Greek restaurant last night and at the time I wished I'd have chosen it too. Couldn't resist cooking it today after discovering it on the BBC site! Fabulous dish, so easy and so full of flavours, my partner liked it more than his restaurant equivalent. I added only one cinnamon stick to avoid over flavouring and used neck fillet of lamb which added to cooking time. This is high on my recipe list now for family and entertaining.

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  • Binder photo Cathyfishcake

    05 October 2009

    Cathyfishcake rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this for the 1st time last night and it was a real hit, took us straight back to Greece! Easy to prepare but quite impressive to eat. Will try it out on friends next time.

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  • Binder photo Victoria Lea

    05 November 2009

    Victoria Lea rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    whole family liked this, which is a rarity, so will make again.

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  • Binder photo Liz Denton

    09 November 2009

    Liz Denton rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Very disappointing. Not 'spiced' enough and far too much pasta. I added some allspice, garlic and extra oregano to try and give the dish some flavour. Result was not worth the effort and time it took to make. Final dish was bordering on being too dry. Next day it needed added water to render it edible.

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  • Binder photo Kerriebaby

    16 November 2009

    Kerriebaby commented on this recipe

    This recipe is lovely, dead easy but so tasty (and morish, 4 of us devoured the lot) deffo one for my recipe folder

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  • Binder photo Di

    24 November 2009

    Di rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This should be rated as easy. Enjoyed by all. Couldn't find orzo in Tesco so used risotto rice and reduced quantity as others comments. I've since found Ocado sells it so I'll try it next time. Also left out the cinnamon sticks and added slightly extra ground cinnamon. Served with greek salad and fresh bread.

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  • Binder photo suesue

    28 November 2009

    suesue rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this with risotto rice and didn't put any cheese on top. My husband doesn't usually eat lamb but he loved it! Will cook it with orzo next time.

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  • Binder photo JoD

    02 December 2009

    JoD rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    We really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to making it again. I butchered lamb shoulder for the first time to make this. I did cut a corner to save on time by browning the lamb and onion first before putting it in the oven. I couldn't find orzo in my supermarket so I bought small pasta called Conchigliette. The lamb was really tender and the dish was very tasty.

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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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