Comments on: Orzo cooked in Tomato Sauce (Manestra)

By: Nousiesmom

Nousiesmom — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:14:05 +0000

I make something similar. My recipe calls for one can of diced tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped sweet red pepper, garlic, and kalamata olives (have to be kalamata as the brine taste is the key). I warm up a few chilli flakes in my olive oil, add the veggies, then the orzo to toast a bit and absorb flavor. Toss in the can of diced tomatoes and water.
It is such a yummy side dish!

By: MamaLisa

MamaLisa — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:57:28 +0000

Do any of you make the tomato sauce with a cinnamon stick? I had a great Orzo dish at my wedding shower (which was at a Greek restaurant) - and they made the sauce with tomatoes, beef broth, butter, onion, garlic and oregano, and the cinnamon stick. Then when it’s up to taste, throw in the orzo and cook in the sauce. It was fabulous then. I just found my 14 year-old recipe and am going to try it tonight! Thoughts?

By: Lulu

Lulu — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:08:32 +0000

Thanks, Andreas! Yay, Nafplio!

By: Andreas

Andreas — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:59:28 +0000

In Nafplio we call this dish manestra as the recipie author.

By: Lulu

Lulu — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:39:03 +0000

Hi Kristine,

Yes, browning the orzo gives it a nice nutty flavor.

By: Kristine

Kristine — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:21:11 +0000

I saute’ the orzo and onions in butter and olive oil a little before adding vegetable broth and then a little can of tomato sauce.
Also, I put chickpeas in it in for protein since we are vegetarians.

By: tastythaicooking

tastythaicooking — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:15:16 +0000

Glad I found your site. I will try some of your recipes soon! Thanks for sharing.

By: Lulu

Lulu — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:39:58 +0000

Hi Angie, glad you liked it!

By: Angie

Angie — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:20:14 +0000

Made this last night with pork chops for the three of us. I used 1/2 lb of orzo and followed the recipe exactly.

Very, very good, the family loved it. Needless to say, there were no leftovers. Next time, rather than three cans of water, I might try low sodium chicken broth for even more flavor.

Thanks for this recipe, just wonderful! I’ll be making this quite often!

By: Cassandra

Cassandra — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:34:47 +0000

Mmmm… kritharaki. In Thessaloniki too we would call this kritharaki. It could probably be called giouvetsi too, but I’ve always used the term giouvetsi for kritharaki with meat. It’s such a pity we can’t find orzo very easily in London; however, my partner did manage to find some packets once, at the beginning of my pregnancy. When I had that terrible 1st trimester morning sickness I found that kritharaki & plain rice were the only things I could eat, so my partner kept going to that same place, at the other side of London, to fetch me some more kritharaki…. AAAAAAhhhhh, now I’m longing for some more, think I’ll ask him again! Thanks for the recipe.

Cassandra’s last blog post..An everyday meal: Leek & lemon risotto