A Greek oven dish of slowly braised beef and kritharaki (orzo), the rice-shaped pasta that soaks up all the flavours of the sauce. Rustic comfort food that practically cooks itself; you mainly need time, not effort.
Giouvetsi
Giouvetsi
Method
01
Brown
Brown the meat all over in the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 min.
02
Braise
Deglaze with the wine and reduce. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, herbs and stock. Leave to braise gently for approx. 2 hours until the meat is tender.
03
Orzo
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Spoon the braised meat with the sauce into a large ovenproof dish and stir in the orzo. Make sure there is enough liquid; the orzo absorbs a lot.
04
Bake
Bake for approx. 30 min, stirring once halfway, until the orzo is cooked and the top lightly colours.
05
Serve
Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Sprinkle generously with grated kefalotyri and serve with a Greek salad.
Tips & notes
Be generous with the liquid before you add the orzo; a dish that is too dry gives hard, unevenly cooked pasta. Check halfway through the oven baking whether there is still enough liquid and, if needed, add a splash of warm stock. Keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge, and freezes very well (up to 3 months); the flavour often deepens further the next day.
Variations
- Replace the beef with lamb shoulder for a more authentic, fattier giouvetsi.
- Use the kritharaki from the separate recipe as the base for the cooking.
Contains:
Sulphites
Serve with
| Calories | 331 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Fibre | 4 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
