What is Manestra? Manestra (Μανέστρα) is a traditional Greek dish of orzo pasta simmered in a rich tomato sauce with onion, carrot, and celery until thick and saucy — closer to a loose risotto than a soup. It’s a staple of Greek home cooking, and the version here, manestra collu pimpiri, comes from Corfu.
Manestra (pronounced ma-NES-tra) is fantastic, simple food that will warm you up deliciously! Orzo pasta is cooked in a rich tomato sauce for an ultimate quick comfort dish — thick, saucy, and spoonable, but not a soup. This traditional orzo recipe comes together in twenty minutes.
If you’re a fan of our delicious Manestra, you’re in for a treat with our Orzo with Spinach and Feta, Orzo Pasta with Tomatoes and Parmesan, and One Pot Lemon Orzo Chicken!
Why you will love manestra
Here is what you need
- Orzo pasta.
- Cherry tomatoes.
- Tomato paste.
- Carrots, celery, and onion.
- Sweet paprika, chili flakes (optional), and sea salt.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
How to make manestra
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, cut in half, and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, sweet paprika, and sauté for one minute on medium-low heat.
- Add the tomatoes, stir, and sauté for two to three minutes on medium-low heat.
- Add hot water and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, season with sea salt and pepper and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of chili flakes, crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan and crusty warm bread.
Pro tips
- Manestra is meant to be thick and saucy, more like a loose risotto than a soup — that’s what makes it manestra rather than just “orzo in broth.”
- Want it soupier? Add an extra 1–2 cups of hot water or broth at the end of cooking and simmer for 2 more minutes.
- You may add additional vegetables like sliced bell peppers, cubed zucchini, or roasted eggplant cubes, as in this pizza with burrata cheese.
- You may use very short pasta, such as ditalini or a similar variety usually used for soups and stews. As the dish cools, the orzo will absorb most of the liquid.
- To add moisture, warm it over medium heat in a pot with a cup of vegetable broth.
Manestra variations
Creamy manestra
At the end of cooking, add half a cup of heavy cream or half and half and half a cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, kefalotiri, or pecorino Romano. Grind lots of fresh pepper, stir, and enjoy! For extra flavor, cook some diced bacon or pancetta and mix it in; it’s delicious!
Manestra with chicken
Add shredded rotisserie chicken or pan-seared chicken thighs during the last 5 minutes of simmering, just long enough to warm through. It turns the dish into a heartier one-pot meal without weighing down the sauce.
Manestra with beef or lamb
Brown ½ pound of ground beef or lamb with the onion, carrot, and celery at the start, then continue the recipe as written — the rendered fat enriches the tomato sauce. This is closer to the meat-sauce version below, but simpler and quicker for a weeknight.
Add a meat sauce
Cook the ground beef as in this recipe for Greek spaghetti with meat sauce, then mix it with the manestra. Sprinkle lots of grated cheese and freshly ground pepper.
Storage and reheating
- Manestra can be kept in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add some broth or water to loosen up the orzo and enrich the sauce.
- Any leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container and used within three months. Thaw them in the refrigerator and warm them on the stovetop as directed above.
Side dishes for manestra
- Bread—well, obviously! Try our easy peasant bread; you will love it.
- Olives—Our marinated olives with feta are perfect.
- Salad—Check our tabouli with greens and pomegranate, or a traditional Greek lettuce salad.
- Dips—Taramosalata is a light, delicious seafood dip to spread on crusty bread. Bouyourdi has molten feta cheese with tomatoes and peppers and is a flavor bomb!
- Skewers—Pork or chicken are an excellent choice.
FAQs about cheesecloth
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If you tried this recipe, I’d love to know how you liked it — drop a comment below or tag me on Instagram @thegreekfoodie__.
Manestra – Orzo Comfort Food
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium-sized onions, or a large onion, diced
- 2 medium sized carrots, cut into coins
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, or aleppo pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 6 cups boiling water
- 2 cups orzo pasta
- sea salt
for serving
- chili flakes, for serving
- crumbled Greek feta cheese, or grated Parmigiano reggiano
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, cut in half, and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and sweet paprika and sauté for one minute on medium-low heat.
- Add the tomatoes, stir, and sauté for two to three minutes on medium-low heat.
- Add hot water and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, season with sea salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately with crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan and crusty warm bread.
Notes
Manestra variations
-
- Creamy manestra. At the end of cooking, add half a cup of heavy cream or half and half and half a cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, kefalotiri, or pecorino Romano. Grind lots of fresh pepper, stir, and enjoy! For extra flavor, cook some diced bacon or pancetta and mix it in; it’s delicious!
-
- Add a meat sauce. Cook ground beef like in this recipe for Greek spaghetti with meat sauce and mix it with the manestra. Sprinkle lots of grated cheese and freshly ground pepper.
Storage and reheating
-
- Manestra can be kept in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add some broth or water to loosen up the orzo and enrich the sauce.
-
- Any leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container and used within three months. Thaw them in the refrigerator and warm them on the stovetop as directed above.
Nutrition
The dish is straight forward and delicious. I loved the beautiful cherry tomatoes and creamy texture. This variation of pasta is memorable.
I made this yesterday and it tasted really good with crusty bread. So simple to make!
Only thing to note is with left overs. The orzo will absorb the sauce! The next day there was no sauce left!
Hi Jeff!
That’s true, you will need to add some liquid like some broth to release the orzo and create a yummy sauce.
So glad you liked it! Thanks so much,
x Jenny