Easy Greek Giouvetsi Recipe
One of the dishes that impressed me a lot during our last vacation in Greece was this particularly tasty and hearty meal. It's pronounced "youvetsi". When I ordered at the restaurant, I had no idea what I would get, but I was lucky to discover this wonderful and delicious Greek food.
I've already cooked giouvetsi about three times at home, each time with great success and minimal effort on my part. It would be ideal to use beef, but I chose turkey and it seems to me the most suitable and quick, as well as chicken or lamb. Cooking times will vary a lot, but if you have time and know how to cook beef properly, you should definitely try.
Prepare all the ingredients for the recipe.
Finely chop the onion and garlic, cut the meat into medium cubes.
Heat the olive oil in a deep pan, add the finely chopped garlic and fry for half a minute.
Add the meat and cook over high heat for 10 minutes until it changes color, but it mustn't brown.
Add the chopped onion, mix and cook for another 10 minutes.
Pour over the canned diced tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Optionally and for a more authentic taste, I recommend putting here one stick of cinnamon.
If you are using turkey or chicken, boil everything together for five more minutes.
If you are using beef, add two glasses of water and simmer for a longer time, until the meat is soft and tender.
Meanwhile, place the orzo in a deep oven dish.
For the quantities in this recipe, a 20x30cm pan would be ideal. This one is made of glass and very useful. I got it from Ikea at a decent price.
Pour the hot sauce over the pasta in the dish. Do not mix, just spread evenly over the top.
Add one or two glasses of cold water, enough to cover the meat.
Place the dish in the preheated oven to 180 degrees C for 30 minutes.
After that, remove from the oven, sprinkle on top with grated mozzarella (or other cheese of your choice) and crushed feta cheese.
Return the dish to the oven for another 10 minutes.
Remove and leave on the table for 10-15 minutes to infuse.
Meanwhile, make a salad - ideally, the real Greek salad. Then, serve with warm giouvetsi and savour.
It's a super tasty dish. I'm sure you'll be impressed by its wonderful taste.
Enjoy!
