Manestra – Greek Ground Beef & Orzo
30 Days of Greek Cooking: Day 10 of 30
My manestra recipe is made with lean ground beef & orzo and is garnished with fresh parsley & shredded romano cheese. Sometimes these dishes are made more soupy, but I like it to be a bit thicker so I can serve it in a shallow bowl. I seriously wish I could share the delicious scent of this dish with you while it’s cooking, but you’ll just have to make it for yourself! I swear, I didn’t even want to walk out of the kitchen because I didn’t want to miss the smell of it on the stove.
What is Manestra?
Manestra (mah-NAY-strah) is a one-pot Greek orzo dish that’s tomato-based with olive oil, onion, & garlic. Most recipes include ground beef, but it can be made vegetarian. This sort of dish is often served as a soup or stew with shredded cheese as a garnish and is considered a Greek comfort food.
Items you’ll need to make this recipe:
- Wooden spoon
- Cuttingboard & knife
- Large stockpot
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Grease strainer
Greek Manestra
- Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Manestra is a one-pot Greek orzo dish that’s tomato-based with olive oil, lean ground beef, onion, garlic, & fresh herbs. It’s considered to be a Greek comfort food.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 lbs. lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
romano cheese, shredded (for garnish)
salt
black pepper
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon EVOO over medium heat in a large stockpot until shimmering, but not smoking. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes while stirring regularly. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add lean ground beef, salt, & pepper and cook until fully cooked, about 7 minutes. Strain out fat and return to pot.
- Drizzle an additional 2 tablespoons EVOO into pot. Add tomato paste, dried oregano, cinnamon, fresh mint, & about ¼ cup of fresh parsley. Stir to coat beef and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken stock. Ensure nothing is stuck to bottom of pot by scraping with wooden spoon. Raise heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add orzo pasta. Stir for about 1 minute, then lower heat and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes.
- Keep covered & remove pot from heat. Let stand undisturbed for about 7 minutes, allowing orzo to soak up most remaining liquid.
- Serve in shallow bowls. Sprinkle shredded romano cheese & remaining chopped fresh parsley to garnish.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Rest Time: 7 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: One-Pot
- Cuisine: Greek
Keywords: one pot, one pot recipe, one pot recipes, greek recipe, greek recipes, traditional, traditional greek recipes, traditional greek food, one-pot, greek food, olive oil, EVOO, extra virgin olive oil, no butter, butter substitute, onion, yellow onion, garlic, minced garlic, beef, ground beef, minced beef, beef mince, lean beef, lean ground beef, ground chuck, chuck, orzo, greek orzo, beef orzo, tomato, tomato paste, chicken stock, chicken broth, broth, stock, cooking stock, cooking broth, low sodium, low salt, low sodium chicken stock, unsalted chicken stock, easy, easy recipe, easy recipes, easy greek recipe, easy greek food, meal prep, quick meal, quick, quick and easy, meat, lean meat, ground meat, protein, bulk, greek dinner, greek lunch, spice, spices, ground spice, ground cinnamon, cinnamon, herb, herbs, fresh herbs, fresh herb, dried herb, dried herbs, oregano, dried oregano, oregano leaves, dried oregano leaves, mint, fresh mint, mint leaves, chopped mint leaves, chopped mint, fresh mint leaves, parsley, italian parsley, curly parsley, curled parsley, parsley leaves, fresh parsley, fresh parsley leaves, chopped parsley, cheese, italian cheese, romano cheese, shredded cheese, shredded romano, shredded romano cheese, fresh cheese, fresh romano, fresh romano cheese, cheese brick, romano cheese brick, cheese garnish, shredded cheese garnish, freshly grated, grated cheese
Check out these similar posts:
Fasolada – Traditional Greek White Bean Soup
Quarantine-Inspired Bullet Journal Doodles
