Greek Lamb stew with Orzo pasta (Lamb Giouvetsi)
The perfect Greek lamb stew recipe with orzo pasta (Greek lamb giouvetsi)! Juicy, melt-in-the-mouth lamb stew in a delicious tomato-based sauce and orzo.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 40 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 kg/35 ounces leg of lamb, boneless, cut into chunks
- 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced (1 cm thick)
- 1 tin of chopped (tinned) tomatoes (400g / 14oz)
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 glass of red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 250g orzo pasta (9 ounces) ( kritharaki / manestra )
- 100g grated kefalotyri or feta cheese (5 ounces)
Instructions
- 1
To prepare this lamb giouvetsi recipe, start by cutting the lamb into chunks. Wipe the lamb with paper towels. Heat 1/2 of a cup of olive oil into a pan, add the chopped onions and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes in medium-low heat. Turn up the heat and add the lamb; brown the meat on all sides until crusty.
- 2
Stir in the tomato paste and pour in the red wine. Wait for the wine to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes, a glass of water, the nay leaf, sugar and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- 3
Turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for at least 45 minutes.
- 4
In the meantime into another pan heat 3 tbsps of olive oil and the orzo pasta. Sauté, until golden.
- 5
Place the orzo pasta along with the meat and sauce in an oven tray (remove the bay leaf) and mix with a spatula. Cover the tray with some aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil, add a glass of water if needed, and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with some grated hard yellow cheese (kefalotyri) and enjoy!