If you’ve been on any of the many social media platforms these days, you will probably stumble over baked feta with tomatoes and pasta. It’s the »hot sh*t« right now. It started on TikTok and spread like a disease all over the internet. This combination is actually nothing new, but somehow it turned into a trend. Today I am showing you something with feta, tomatoes, and pasta… just different. One of our favorite casserole dishes: Greek Baked Orzo with Feta Cheese! So good!
I have a love/hate relationship with social media trends. Initially, it is nice to see Dalgona coffee, cloud bread, or these super sugary hot cocoa chocolate balls. Same for the baked feta. The idea is not new, but it is interesting. It’s the moment you start seeing it on every channel ten times a day – that gets annoying quite quickly. I guess I am not the only one thinking like that…
This dish here is no »hot sh*t« – well – actually it is quite hot when it comes out of the oven, so be careful… but it’s definitely been around for quite some time already. Not the most beautiful casserole dish but certainly one of the most delicious ones.
I used orzo pasta for this dish here – it is also known as Kritharaki or Risoni depending on the country the recipe is coming from. These noodles look like rice and work really well in a baked casserole dish. When baked in a tasty sauce they soak up the sauce and all the flavors… mmm. Similar to risotto.
If you don’t have orzo noodles at home you can theoretically use any other type of pasta. Sometimes we have leftover uncooked pasta from several packages and use them all mixed for this dish – works great every time!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4-5 servings)
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
18 oz. (500g) ground beef
2 tbsp. tomato paste*
25 fl. oz. (750ml) vegetable broth
1 can (14 oz./400g) tomatoes in pieces*
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
1 tsp. dried oregano*
1/2 tsp. paprika powder (sweet)*
salt, lemon pepper*
11 oz. (300g) Orzo (Kritharaki)*, uncooked
7 oz. (200g) feta cheese
some olive oil
some fresh thyme
(4-5 Portionen)
2-3 EL Olivenöl
1 rote Zwiebel, gehackt
4-5 Knoblauchzehen, gehackt
500g Hackfleisch, gemischt
2 EL Tomatenmark*
750ml kräftige Gemüsebrühe
1 Dose (400g) gestückelte Tomaten*
80ml Milch
1 TL Oregano*
1/2 TL Paprikapulver (edelsüß)*
Salz, Zitronenpfeffer*
300g Orzo/Kritharaki*, ungekocht
200g Fetakäse
etwas Olivenöl
etwas frischer Thymian
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add the oil to a large pot and heat up. Fry the onion and garlic until soft and glossy. Add the ground beef and cook until nicely browned. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine, let cook for some time so some roasting flavors can develop. Deglaze with the vegetable broth, add the tomatoes and milk and mix in. Season with oregano, paprika powder, salt, and lemon pepper. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. While the sauce is cooking, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the uncooked Orzo (Kritharaki) noodles, and transfer to a large casserole dish. Crumble the feta and sprinkle it on top. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool down for several minutes, then drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with fresh thyme before serving.
1. Zwiebel und Knoblauch schälen und fein hacken. Das Öl in einen großen Topf geben und erhitzen. Die Zwiebeln und den Knoblauch glasig andünsten, dann das Hackfleisch dazugeben und krümelig anbraten. Das Tomatenmark dazugeben und unterrühren und leicht anbräunen lassen, damit sich ein paar Röstaromen entwickeln können. Mit Gemüsebrühe ablöschen. Gestückelte Tomaten und Milch dazugeben und dann mit Oregano, Paprikapulver, Salz und Zitronenpfeffer würzen und für etwa 10 Minuten köcheln lassen.
2. Während die Soße köchelt, den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Die Soße vom Herd ziehen, die ungekochten Orzo/Kritharaki Nudeln unterrühren und dann alles in eine große Auflaufform füllen. Den Feta zerbröckeln und auf dem Auflauf verteilen. Für etwa 30 Minuten backen. Den fertigen Auflauf aus dem Ofen holen, einige Minuten abkühlen lassen und dann vor dem Servieren mit etwas Olivenöl beträufeln und mit frischem Thymian bestreuen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Greek Baked Orzo with Feta Cheese
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:30
- Total Time: 00:50
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: -
- Cuisine: Greece
Description
A delicious casserole dish with ground beef, orzo noodles, and feta. It might not be the prettiest dish, but most certainly one of the most delicious ones!
Ingredients
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
18 oz. (500g) ground beef
2 tbsp. tomato paste*
25 fl. oz. (750ml) vegetable broth
1 can (14 oz./400g) tomatoes in pieces*
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
1 tsp. dried oregano*
1/2 tsp. paprika powder (sweet)*
salt, lemon pepper*
11 oz. (300g) Orzo (Kritharaki)*, uncooked
7 oz. (200g) feta cheese
some olive oil
some fresh thyme
Instructions
1. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add the oil to a large pot and heat up. Fry the onion and garlic until soft and glossy. Add the ground beef and cook until nicely browned. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine, let cook for some time so some roasting flavors can develop. Deglaze with the vegetable broth, add the tomatoes and milk and mix in. Season with oregano, paprika powder, salt, and lemon pepper. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. While the sauce is cooking, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the uncooked Orzo (Kritharaki) noodles, and transfer to a large casserole dish. Crumble the feta and sprinkle it on top. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool down for several minutes, then drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with fresh thyme before serving.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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