Manestra - Orzo Comfort Food - The Greek Foodie

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

Manestra - Orzo Comfort Food

Manestra has orzo pasta cooked in a rich tomato sauce for an ultimate quick comfort dish. This traditional orzo recipe comes together in twenty minutes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Servings

Calories 445kcal

Author by Jenny Skrapaliori Graves

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.

The nutritional analysis is only an estimate based on available ingredients and the recipe’s preparation.

Nutrition