25th September 2021

I’ve never been much of a cook, although I did like getting into the kitchen to make a nice meal. I think the most satisfying part was sitting down to dinner with John and having him really enjoy what I had cooked.

John liked simple meals. He liked to feel like he had eaten a proper meal and that he wasn’t going to feel hungry later. He loved eating the typical “meat and two veggies” type meal, especially if there was gravy and he could mop it up with a slice of bread. He didn’t like spicy food, so no Indian or Asian, other than Chinese food, but then that was really only meat and veg in a different kind of gravy.

When Nat invited me to come and live with her, Mark and Alex after John passed away, she said she would help broaden my range of tastes for food and I am happy to say between her and Mark, the process has begun. So I thought I would share one of the recipes that Nat makes, that I liked the first time I tried it.

Israeli Lamb & Orzo ( Risoni in Australia) one pan meal.

I had never heard of Orzo or Risoni pasta before. It is a wheat pasta that looks very much like rice. The body of the meal is a lovely mix of lamb mince, tomato sauce, carrot, herbs and topped with feta cheese. It smells amazing when it is cooking and tastes really nice. I think even John would like it, although he might have passed on the crumbled feta cheese.

Here we go:

Time to make it is approx 40 minutes of you are cooking for 2 and 45 if for 4

Use a large wide based frying pan with lid for cooking

Ingredient list (for 2) – double the quantities if making this for 4

250g lamb mince – or can be pork mince

1 large carrot

1 sachet of concentrated tomato paste (32g)

500ml of chicken stock – using stock cubes dissolved in boiling water or heat to boiling pre-made stock prior to adding

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

5g finely chopped parsley

30g Greek feta cheese crumbled

150g Orzo (Risoni) pasta

1 garlic clove – peeled and finely chopped

1 onion

30g pine nuts

Olive Oil for cooking

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and finely chop the carrot. Heat the dry pan over a medium heat. Note don’t use oil yet. Once hot, add the pine nuts to the pan and cook for 2 -3 mins or until toasted and golden. Keep a careful eye on them so they don’t burn. Once cooked, remove them from the pan and put them aside for later.

Put the pan back on the medium heat and add a small amount of Olive Oil. Once hot, add the chopped carrot and onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 mins until they begin to soften.

Add the lamb (or pork) mince and the cinnamon to the pan and cook for 4 minutes or until cooked, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the chopped garlic, tomato paste and dried oregano and cook for about 1 minute stirring.

Add in the boiling chicken stock, Orzo/Risoni Pasta and a pinch of salt and pepper. Increase the head to medium-high and cook, covered for 12-14 minutes or until the Orzo/Risoni pasta is tender. Stir half way through cook to prevent the Orzo/Risoni pasta from sticking. That’s your one pan Lamb/Pork and Orzo done.

Serve in bowls, garnished with the chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts and crumbled fetta.

Yum!