Yiouvetsi Kritharaki Kypriako ? Cypriot Orzo Yiouvetsi (????????? ????????? ????????)

This dish requires no introduction to our Cypriot friends, and though yiouvetsi [????????? in Gk., pronounced ?yoo-VE-tsee?] dishes are common fare throughout Greece, this variation employing ground meat is from Cyprus. As the 1st of October is Cypriot Independence Day, and since I was unable to attend the reception held by the Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus here in Toronto due to a nasty cold, I thought I might whip up a dish to belatedly commemorate the occasion in absentia, as it were. 

We are now in the Autumn season here in the Northern Hemisphere, and this recipe is a representative Greek comfort food that is easy to make and even easier to eat during the increasingly colder and shorter days that are upon us. The term ?yiouvetsi? can best be translated as ?casserole? and the name is derived from the type of earthenware vessel that is traditionally used to bake it; a deep two-handled round clay dish. I used an oval stoneware casserole as I broke my yiouvetsi dish (boohoo!) and have not had a chance to replace it. The main point here is that a metal pan is no substitute for a ceramic cooking vessel when one is trying to remain true to traditional Greek food cooking techniques. If you have a ceramic casserole dish, this would be a good recipe to use it on.  If you do not have clay or stoneware crockery, then I recommend something like a CorningWare® or Pyrex® glass-ceramic ovenproof dish, as a metal pan will require that you stay on top of it and stir the contents often or the pasta will stick to the sides and bottom. My grandmother used to say that "a true yiouvetsi is stirred only once, half-way through the cooking and no more".

Variations on the yiouvetsi theme in Greek cuisine can include cuts of lamb or chicken, or it can be made without any meat whatsoever. Cheese (usually a dried Greek whey cheese known as myzithra) can also be grated and sprinkled overtop when serving; though I typically do not use cheese on the meat-based variations, it remains an option. Usually, the meatless version of this dish is referred to simply as manestra [pronounced "mah-NE-strah"]. NOTE: Other pasta noodles may also be used to make yiouvetsi, but the krytharaki (orzo) noodle is the most commonly used for this purpose in this Greek recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb. (450 gr.) ground veal

1 quart (1 litre) beef stock

1 ½ cups (375 ml.) of orzo pasta

1 cup (250 ml.) fresh strained tomato juice/sauce [or 2 tbsp. (30 ml.) tomato paste diluted in 1 cup of water]

1 onion, grated or finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick (a couple inches in length will suffice)

4 cloves

3 tablespoons (45 ml.) Greek extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon (15 ml.) butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan, then, over a medium heat, add the ground veal and breaking it up with a wooden spoon sauté the meat for 5-8 minutes stirring constantly until it is thoroughly browned. Once the ground veal has been completely browned, add the onion, tomato sauce, cinnamon stick, cloves, salt and pepper to the saucepan with the meat. Stirring the contents well, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes over a medium-low heat. In a separate pan/pot bring the beef stock to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low, so as to keep it hot until we need it. When the meat has cooked, remove the cinnamon stick from the pan. Add the uncooked orzo pasta to the hot beef stock for a couple stirs, then add the stock to the pan with the meat sauce and stir to mix thoroughly. Butter the sides and bottom of the casserole, then add the yiouvetsi mixture to the dish and bake uncovered at a moderate heat 350° F. (180° C.) for 50-60 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed by the pasta. Stir the yiouvetsi well with a wooden spoon only once at about the 25 minute mark (making sure to get into the corners of the dish) then let it cook undisturbed for the remainder of its allotted time.  Look for the surface of the yiouvetsi to form almost a crust-like top layer, especially near the edges of the dish. Remove from the oven when done and let the casserole sit for 15 minutes before serving.