Recipe courtesy of Bellevue Diner

Baked Lamb And Orzo (Arni Youvetsi)

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Total: 3 hr 25 min
  • Active: 25 min
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Ingredients

2 pounds lamb (shank, leg, shoulder roast, top roast, etc.)

Olive oil, for drizzling 

1 tablespoon salt 

2 tablespoons ground black pepper 

1 large onion, diced 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

3/4 cup diced tomatoes 

3 cups broth or water 

8 ounces orzo 

Myzithra cheese, feta, Parmesan or good Romano, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Rub the lamb with olive oil and sprinkle very liberally with salt and pepper. Sear the lamb in a heavy bottomed skillet. Transfer to a casserole dish.
  3. Add a little olive oil to the skillet, then add the onions. Cook until tender, then stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until they start to become incorporated with the onions. Add the diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the liquid to the lamb casserole. Cover it and bake until the lamb is very tender, about 2 hours 30 minutes.
  4. Add the orzo and stir. Add some hot water if it starts to look dry and continue to bake, uncovered, until the orzo is cooked, 20 to 30 minutes.
  5. Serve pieces of the lamb alongside the orzo and top generously with your choice of cheese.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Rebecca S.

This was delicious! I was surprised how good this tomato sauce was for how simple it is. I used red onions simply because of preference and it added a really nice flavor to the dish. I cooked mine for about 30 minutes less before adding the orzo because of an unforeseen time contra if that, so I was a little worried, but everything was still cooked perfectly by the end. The lamb was tender and the orzo was PERFECT after 30 minutes. Definitely worth making!

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