Allow enough fluid
Kritharaki continue to make sauce after the oven. When taken out, the dish may appear a little more liquid than it should be served later.
Greek Recipe
Giouvetsi with beef and kritharaki
Stew the shoulder of beef slowly until soft with onions, wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, cinnamon and allspice. Finally, add the kritharaki and hot broth to ensure that the noodles remain juicy and firm to the bite.
Total time
3 hr 15 min
Calories
760 kcal
Servings
6 servings
Difficulty
Medium
Why this recipe works
Greek beef stew with Orzo noodles
Giouvetsi is traditionally prepared in a deep oven dish, and the meat takes most of the cooking time alone, as kritharaki only take a few minutes to cook and then continue to absorb liquid. Therefore, the casserole should still come out of the oven juicy. Grated kefalotyri adds the warm notes of tomato and spice when serving.
Mediterranean Cuisine
Lunch
One-Pot Recipes
Dinner
Recipe
Giouvetsi with beef and kritharaki
Giouvetsi braises beef in an aromatic tomato sauce and then cooks kritharaki directly in the casserole until the noodles absorb the meat juice.
Ingredients
6 servings
Method
-
1
Brown the beef vigorously
Preheat the oven to 160 ° C. Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof roasting tray and brown the meat in three portions all around. Remove.
-
2
Sauce base
Sauté onions in frying fat for 7 minutes until soft. Fry garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute. Deglaze with red wine and reduce to about half.
-
3
Braising meat
Add the tomatoes, 600 ml of stock, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaf, 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Reserve the meat, put it covered in the oven and braise for about 2 hours until it is almost tender.
-
4
Remove spices
Remove the casserole and remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and allspice. Increase the oven temperature to 190 ° C. Check that the casserole still contains at least 1.2 l of thin sauce; add hot stock if necessary.
-
5
Kritharaki
Stir in Kritharaki evenly and bake open for 18 to 22 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir gently once and add further hot stock if necessary.
-
6
Serve juicy
Remove the giouvetsi from the oven when the pasta is just al dente and still clearly surrounded by sauce. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, season to taste and sprinkle with kefalotyri.
Kitchen know-how
Tips for Giouvetsi with beef and kritharaki
Add noodles only at the end
A three-hour stewing together would completely decay Kritharaki. Beef tends to tender first, and noodles are added only for the last baking phase.
Variations
How to adapt this recipe
Replace beef shoulder with lamb shoulder. Depending on the size of the pieces, the braising time can be 15 to 20 minutes shorter.
Replace red wine with 150 ml of additional beef stock and balance the tomato sauce at the end with a teaspoon of red wine vinegar.
Nutrition per serving
760kcal
68.0 gCarbohydrates
52.0 gProtein
29.0 gFat
Values are estimates and may vary depending on the ingredients, brands, portion size and preparation method used.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Giouvetsi with beef and kritharaki
Kritharaki look like large grains of rice, but are made of durum wheat semolina and are a type of pasta. They are also called orzo or rice noodles.
In a wide roasting pan, the pasta absorbs the tomato and meat sauce evenly, while at the same time creating light roasted flavours on the surface.
Before stirring in, there must be plenty of thin, hot sauce. Check once during baking and add hot stock if necessary.
Yes, but the pasta will continue to absorb liquid. If it is slowly heated, stir in some stock or water and add freshly grated cheese only afterwards.
Kefalotyri is strong, salty and traditionally suitable. Kefalograviera or a not too mild pecorino are good alternatives.
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