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I love a good one pot meal—these types of meals require little clean up. Enter Kritharaki, often referred to as manestra or orzo. Kritharaki has the aromatic smell of sautéed onions and garlic, a decadent tomato sauce spiced with oregano and cinnamon, and finishes with the addition of stirred in orzo that is cooked low and slow in the sauce. Though it requires minimal effort, I advise you to watch over the pot here and there, as the orzo can quickly thicken and stick to the bottom of the pot. This recipe will feed four to six people—I also would advise you to make a double or even a triple batch, because trust me, you will want more!
Prep Time:
5min
Total Time:
45min
Servings:
3-4
Good For:
Dinner/Lent
Ingredients
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1⁄4 cup ketchup (optional)*
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 to 4 cups of water
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups orzo (In Greek, kritharaki or manestra)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until translucent.
2. Season generously with salt, pepper, and oregano.
3. Add in the garlic and continue to sauté for 5 more minutes.
4. Add tomato sauce, ketchup or sugar (if using it – I don’t), and vegetable broth to the pot.
5. After pouring the can of tomato sauce, fill up the can with water and pour that into the pot, too. No sauce goes to waste in a Greek household!
6. Season with cinnamon and a bit more oregano.
7. Lower the heat to low – medium and stir in the orzo.
8. Cover the pan with the lid (leave the lid off slightly) and allow to cook for about 20 – 25 minutes. Make sure you stir throughout – especially the bottom of the pan.
*Add water or vegetable broth if needed to cover the orzo. Check for flavor— add more salt, pepper, cinnamon or oregano if needed.***
9. When the orzo is soft, remove the lid and remove the pot from heat and allow it to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
10. Enjoy!
NOTES
If there are any leftovers, which I don’t anticipate there being any, but if there are…add more liquid such as water or vegetable broth when re-heating.
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13 Comments
You are cute….:) My mind was simply not able to focus on the recipe lol
Halloumi grated on top makes it 100x tastier 🙂
"Double fist it" that's what she said 😆
We usually fry the kritheraki otherwise the starch comes out and its like glue.
I'll try for sure this recipe
I will try it this weekend, can i make it the evening before?
Kritharaki
wowwwwwwwwwwww.
Misko! the best!
You need to do more Greek recipes!!!
Cinnamon??? No….
The cinnamon is the most unexpected amazing ingredient imaginable in this recipe like I was soooo surprised ‼️‼️‼️‼️❤️🔥
It’s kritharaki.