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Lamb & Orzo Casserole


  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: European

Description

A delicious and warming slow cooked casserole. The lamb and orzo are cooked in the same pot making this dish super easy with little washing up to do afterwards


Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 400g lamb, diced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 200ml lamb stock
  • 200ml red wine (or stock if you prefer)
  • 200g orzo
  • 20 black olives
  • Garlic & Rosemary Bread:
  • 1 ciabatta loaf, sliced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Dust the lamb chunks in flour spread onto a plate. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed casserole dish and fry the lamb in batches of 4 or 5 pieces until browned all over. Place the browned lamb in a bowl and keep to one side.
  3. Lightly fry the onion, garlic and cinnamon stick (add more olive oil if necessary) for 5 mins, stirring regularly. Add the bay leaves and oregano and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock and wine if using. Scrape the bottom of the dish with a wooden spoon to release the frying flavours.
  5. Bring the sauce to the boil and add the lamb back in. Put the lid on the casserole dish and put in the oven for 2 to 3 hours (the longer the better!)
  6. After a minimum of 2 hours take the dish out of the oven and remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Add the orzo. The sauce should still look quite runny at this stage but the orzo will soak it up. If the sauce is looking too thick you can add extra stock or wine. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
  7. Add the black olives and return for a final 5 minutes in the oven.
  8. Gently dry fry the ciabatta slices on a griddle pan for 1-2 minutes either side. Make the herb butter by mixing the garlic and rosemary in with the butter.