Greek beef and orzo
Cinnamon and oregano beef with orzo, spinach and lemon, cooked in one pan and finished with salty feta.
- 35 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.57 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 can beef broth
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup water
Each serving has about 530 calories, 32 g protein, 42 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $3.57 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat the oil in a large with a lid over medium, add the onion, and cook 4 minutes, until soft.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Turn the heat to medium-high, add the beef, and cook 6 to 7 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left. Spoon off any pool of fat.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic, oregano, cinnamon, tomato paste, salt and pepper for 1 minute.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: A little cinnamon with beef is classic in Greek cooking. It tastes warm, not sweet.Add the orzo and stir 1 minute to toast it.
Medium-high heat
Pour in the broth and water and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and 12 to 14 minutes, stirring twice, until the orzo is tender.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 13 min
Dolly’s tip: Scrape the bottom when you stir. Orzo loves to stick.Stir in the spinach until it , then the lemon zest and juice.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Low heat
Scatter the feta over the top and serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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