Greek cooking is so much more than feta and olives. Cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves add spicy warmth to this rich and hearty casserole. It can be left to cook all day while you are out, then all you need to do when you get home is stir through the pasta and dinner will be ready in an hour.
Serves
4
Timings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 9 hours
Ingredients
- 400g lamb leg steaks
- 1 x 400g tin crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 125ml beef stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 125g orzo or risoni
- crumbled feta, or shaved Parmesan or pecorino, to serve
- handful of small basil or marjoram leaves, to serve
- lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- Heat your slow cooker to low.
- Trim off any fat from the 400g lamb leg steaks and discard. Cut each lamb steak in half.
- Combine the 400g tin of crushed tomatoes with 2 tbsp tomato purée, 125ml beef stock, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, 1 tsp dried oregano and a handful of finely chopped parsley in the bowl of the slow cooker.
- Generously season with salt and pepper and give everything a good stir. Add the lamb, nudging it into the sauce, then cover and cook for 8 hours.
- Stir through 125g orzo, cover and cook for 1 hour, until the lamb is very tender and the orzo is cooked.
- Serve the casserole in bowls, scattered with the cheese and some basil or marjoram leaves, with the lemon wedges on the side.
Recipe from The Healthy Slow Cooker by Ross Dobson (Murdoch Books, £18.99)