Youvetsi

Youvetsi with garlicky courgettes and a mini garlic baguette

I have a friend who in blogging circles is known as The Not So Hairy Biker and a few weeks ago she took a Group On offer to visit a Greek restaurant. Her husband had ordered a dish called Youvetsi and they both thought it was delicious, she described it to me and sent me a recipe...."You should make this"....OK!

The lamb cooking in the tomatoes

Orzo, a rice shaped pasta

The recipe she sent was a bit clove happy, so I googled Youvetsi and also looked in my Greek cookery book "A Taste of the Greek Islands" by Pamela Westland. In the book Pamela describes how she was invited into a traditional Cephallonian home to sample Yiouvetsi which was being kept warm on a modern electric stove but had been prepared over a traditional wood fire.
What became apparent from my research was that everyone in Greece has their own recipe for Youvetsi and their own way to spell it and as long as you stick to some basic ingredients like lamb, tomatoes and orzo (or kritharaki as it seems to be called in the Greek recipes) then you are on the right tracks. Leg of lamb seemed to be the favourite and some recipes called for you to roast it as a joint and then break it up and some called for chunks of lamb. I went for roasting the joint, but if I did it again I would use chunks and I'm pretty sure shoulder of lamb would work really well.

Youvestsi

4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced
Olive oil
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Carton of passata or polpe de tomates
Oregano
2" stick of cinnamon
1 clove (up to 1/2 a teaspoon if you enjoy the clove flavour)
1 glass of wine
1 kilo leg of lamb (or some cubed leg or shoulder of lamb, choose your quantity dependant on the number of people eating 400-500g for 4 people)
8 oz / 250g orzo (will feed about 4)
Halloumi cheese (this should be kefalatori but I had trouble getting it from anywhere)

If you are using a joint of lamb, you can stud it with some of the garlic, season well with salt and pepper and put in an oven proof dish.
In a separate pan heat the olive oil and gently sauté the garlic. Add the two types of tomatoes, the oregano, the cinnamon and clove and the red wine. Bring the sauce to a boil and then pour over the lamb.
Roast in an oven preheated to GM7/220C/425F for 45 minutes, baste with the tomato mix and turn the meat over half way through the cooking time.
If you are using cubed lamb, seal it in a frying pan with the garlic, then add the tomatoes, wine, oregano, cinnamon and cloves. Pour into an oven proof dish and cook at around GM5/190C/375F for about 40 minutes, the meat should be becoming tender.

Grated halloumi cheese

Meanwhile blanch the orzo in boiling water for about 3 minutes to get the cooking process started. Drain in a colander and refresh it by running cold water through it. Allow it to drain.
When time is up for the lamb, remove from the oven, pour 300ml boiling water around it, add in the pasta and stir well. At this point I cut my joint up and added the pieces of meat back into the dish, but you can just leave it whole and serve sliced lamb with the pasta sauce if you prefer.
If your oven was on GM7 reduce to GM5 and cook until the meat is tender and the pasta is soft. Stir occasionally to stop it from sticking.

Frying the courgettes in olive oil
with whole cloves of garlic

While the cooking is finishing grate some greek cheese, Kefalatori if you have it otherwise halloumi, if you prefer you could use mozzarella or parmesan. Also prepare some vegetables, I cooked some fried courgettes, but you might fancy some garlic mushrooms, or some green beans, or best still a lovely crisp salad.
I also heated up some garlic bread.
When everything is cooked to your liking remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle immediately with the cheese and serve.

The dish was lovely. For me the lamb could have been more tender, which is why I would use diced meat rather than a joint. The Not So Hairy Biker described the Youvetsi that they ate as melt in the mouth. All that aside, it was very Greek, the oregano and cinnamon whisked you away to the Aegean coast. Orzo is a very interesting ingredient, half rice - half pasta, but definately a pasta taste and works very well in a tomatoey sauce. It's also good in a cold salad or for adding to a soup.
I definitely intend to make it again, but with cubed shoulder of lamb, sprinkled with grated Parmesan and served with a lovely crisp Greek village salad, dressed in oil and vinegar and overflowing with juicy beef tomatoes, shiny black kalamata olives and tangy feta cheese.