Foodies
LAMB AND ORZO ONE-POT WONDER
YOUVETSI
My cousin, actor Frank Opperman, once played a Greek in a TV series. A Greek restaurant in Melville in Johannesburg is named The Big Time after that series. We went there to have a traditional Greek evening, complete with breaking plates Zorba-style. Ever since I had this lamb dish I looked all over for a recipe - before the advent of Google. Here is my version of this very delicious, very easy one-pot comfort food. 2 kg stewing lamb Hentie Burger
2 cloves of garlic, crushed Salt and black pepper 10 ml dried oregano 5 ml dried mint 30 ml tomato puree 60 ml olive oil 2 x 410 g cans of chopped tomatoes 225 g orzo (pasta shaped like rice) 300 ml boiling water 125 ml pitted black olives A dash of lemon juice 125 ml dry white wine 2 onions, chopped 30 ml chopped oregano or mint for garnish 50 g grated Parmesan cheese •
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Season the meat on all sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then brown it in oil on both sides and remove from the pan. Fry the onions and garlic until tender, return the meat to the pan. Add oregano, mint, tomatoes, lemon juice, tomato purée and wine. Simmer for half an hour. Put the meat with the sauce in an ovenproof dish. Add the rice pasta, black olives and boiled water. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 180°C. Remove from the oven, garnish with fresh oregano and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Discover more of Antoinette's delicious recipes in Life on a Table To order your copy contact Bonn Nortjé at Venture Publications: bonn@venture.com.na
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