Lamb and Orzo Baked in Tomato Sauce

What you need

• 1 kg (2 lb) boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 4 cm (1 1/2 in) cubes
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 400 ml (1 2/3 cups) tomato passata
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 allspice berries
• 2 leaves bay leaves
• 300 g (10 oz) orzo
• 80 g (3 oz) kefalotyri, finely grated
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Pat the lamb dry and season it well with salt and pepper.

2. 2

   Heat the olive oil in a heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb in 2 batches, 6-8 min per batch, until deep brown on all sides. Move it to a plate.

3. 3

   Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onion in the same pot for 5 min, until soft. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then stir in the tomato paste for 1 min.

4. 4

   Return the lamb to the pot. Add the passata, 500 ml (2 cups) of water, the cinnamon stick, allspice, bay and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer.

5. 5

   Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring now and then, until the lamb is very tender, 1 hour 15 min. Add a splash of hot water if the sauce gets too thick.

6. 6

   Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Fish out the cinnamon stick and bay.

7. 7

   Stir the orzo and 500 ml (2 cups) of hot water into the pot. Taste and adjust the salt. If the pot is not ovenproof, move everything to a baking dish.

8. 8

   Bake uncovered for 25-30 min, stirring once after 10 min, until the orzo is tender and the sauce is thick. Add a splash of hot water if it looks dry before the orzo has softened.

9. 9

   Rest for 10 min. Scatter the kefalotyri over the top and serve from the dish.

Imported from mamazillafood.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.