Manestra 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. 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!

A pot with manestra-Greek orzo soup, on a table with a wooden spoon.

Overview

Why this recipe sings

It’s delicious, simple comfort food. Manestra is an effortless traditional recipe with orzo, cooked in a tomato sauce. It can be found all over Greece with some variations in the ingredients, but the base of the recipe is the same. Orzo pasta is cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Our recipe includes carrot and celery and is manestra collu pimpiri, which comes from Corfu island in the Ionian Sea. Corfu was under Venetian rule from 1401 until 1797and the island’s food is heavily influenced by Venetian cuisine.
It’s so versatile. You can transform this hearty vegan orzo dish by adding a meat sauce, like in our makaronia me kima-spaghetti with ground beef, grilled chicken, or vegetables.
Fun facts. Manestra is from the Italian minestra, which means soup with pasta, while collu pimpiri is a Venetian word for food with pepper, specifically sweet paprika.

Here is what you need

Ingredients for making mantra recipe with orzo, tomatoes, onions, celery and olive oil.

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

Vegetables and seasoning in a pot with a wooden spoon.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, cut in half, and sauté for 3 minutes.

Vegetables, tomato paste and seasoning in a pot with a wooden spoon.

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.

A pot with manestra-Greek orzo soup, comfort food.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of chili flakes, crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan and crusty warm bread.

Helpful tips

Manestra should be brothy but not like soup; it should be like an extra-saucy risotto.
You may add additional vegetables like sliced bell peppers, cubed zucchini, or roasted eggplant cubes like in this pizza with burrata cheese.
You may use very short pasta like ditalini or a similar one usually used for soups and stews.
As the dish cools, the orzo will absorb most of the liquid. To add moisture, warm it on the stove over medium heat 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!
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.

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 choise.