Moschari Kokkinisto me kritharaki (Stewed Veal with orzo)

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Moschari Kokkinisto me Kritharaki is a Greek dish made with stewed veal and orzo pasta is cooked in the sauce.  Although this dish is usually cooked with veal, it can also be made with beef of buffalo meat, lamb, pork, rabbit or chicken.

The veal is cooked in a tomato sauce and the cooking time differs for each kind of meat.   After the meat is cooked the pasta (usually orzo, hilopites or other type of small pasta)  is added and cooked in the sauce.

In this recipe, I used “kritharaki” (orzo), which looks like rice but its bigger than rice and  comes in three sizes:   small, medium or large.

I usually cook the meat in a pressure cooker, which takes around half an hour and  I then transfer the meat, together with the sauce in a pyrex,  add more water and cook the pasta.

You can also cook it on the stove top in a regular pot but more time will be need to cook the meat (around 1 hour and 15 minutes) and of course more water will have to be added.

Update:  11 September, 2011

Today I made this dish again making a few changes to my original recipe which are worth mentioning.  I have marked the changes in red. I used my spice mixture which gave such wonderful flavour to the sauce where the pasta was cooked.

Useful Tips:

¤ Fresh tomatoes are pealed easily if make an X cut on the back side an we put them in hot water for a few seconds.

¤ The easiest way to grate the onion is to do it in the Multi moulinette (food processor) with a couple tbsp olive oil, which you reserve from the quantity mentioned in the recipe. A few spins are enough as we don’t want to puree the onion.  This way we save time, effort and avoid tears. 

¤ You can add any or all of these spices:  cinnamon stick, allspice berries, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper.

¤ If  tomatoes are tart, add a grated carrot or a tablespoon of ketchup or honey in the sauce.

¤ Put hot water in the pyrex, you gain about 10 minutes cooking time.

¤ Meat: Use any meat suitable for a stew.

¤ To cook the orzo, you will need about 1 1/2 cups of fluid (sauce and water), for every 100 grams orzo used,

¤ If you cannot find myzithra, substitute with kefalotyri, halloumi or parmesan.

I used to use chuck roast from veal, which is not bad but now I use (χτένι) which I found translated as flat iron which becomes fork tender.

Moschari Kokkinisto me kritharaki (Stewed Veal with orzo)

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: About 1 hour and 15 minutes
Serves: 4 – 5 

Ingredients

• 1/2 kilo veal stew meat, cut in servings (for those of you who like meat, increase quantity)
• 1/3 cup olive oil or just enough to wet the bottom of your pan
• 1 medium onion, grated or finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 carrot grated
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup red dry wine
  
• 1 kilo ripe fresh tomatoes, blended (or 500 grams pummaro, slightly concentrated tomato juice)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  
• 2 cups water
  
• Salt and freshly grated black pepper
• 1 piece of cinnamon stick 
• 2 – 3 all spice berries
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp of my Greek Spice mixture 
  
• 5 cups hot water (or more as needed)
  
• 500 grams medium or large kritharaki pasta (orzo)

Directions:

1. Wash, peel and blend the fresh tomatoes. 
2. Wash, cut and drain the meat.
3. Heat the olive oil  in a pot (or pressure cooker) and sauté the meat in batches on both sides. Remove to a platter.  Put all the meat back in the pot and add the onion and sauté for a few minutes and then add the garlic and sauté, for a few seconds and finally the carrot and celery and mix for 2 – 3  minutes.
4. Add the wine and cook for a couple of minutes until the alcohol evaporates.
   
5. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon stick, all spice berries, bay leaf, my spice mixture, tomato paste, fresh tomatoes  and 2 cups of water.  
6. Bring to a boil, cover pot with the lid and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the meat is tender (or ½ hour in the pressure cooker after the valve turns).
7. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 F and transfer the cooked  meat with the sauce into a Pyrex or baking tin.  Discard the bay leaf and add the hot water.
8. Add the pasta and cook for  about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add more water if necessary.
   
9. Allow to rest for ten minutes and serve while warm.
10. Grate some myzithra cheese on top and serve with feta.
    

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!

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