A simple, Lamb and Orzo Pasta Salad, a fresh and tasty way to use up your leftover lamb.
Like many people, when Monday arrives, I generally have leftovers from the Sunday Roast. I often go hunting through my collection of cookery books, magazine clippings and my Pinterest archives to find some inspiration for something different to do with whatever meat I have saved.
This week was no different and after a trip to the local supermarket, where I picked up some Orzo, I decided I’d put together this simple Lamb and Orzo Pasta Salad.
If you’re not familiar with Orzo (Italian for “barley”) it is a small rice-shaped type of dried pasta, generally more yellow in colour than other dried pasta’s. It is most often used in soups and broths but can also be used as a side accompaniment flavoured with sun-dried tomatoes and olives and as a hot or cold pasta salad. You need to ensure that the Orzo is not overcooked and maintains that all-important ‘Al Dente’ texture. It should be cooked according to the packet instructions, but normally takes between 8-12 minutes to cook. Like all plain pasta, it is designed to carry the flavour of whatever ingredients it is paired with and I think it works well in this recipes and adds another dimension to the finished plate. If you can’t find Orzo then you can of course substitute it with plain basmati or another long-grain rice. It will also work really well with Israeli couscous – also called ptitim, giant couscous, and pearl couscous.
Interestingly the first time I came across Orzo was in Kas, Turkey and not in Italy. I found that many of the restaurants were using it combined with normal long grain rice; gently fried in a small amount of butter until it takes on a beautiful golden hue, the rice would be added and finally cooked like any normal rice in salted water. At first sight, I couldn’t understand why some of the rice grains had a different colour, and naively thought it was “off” or “bad”. That was until I conducted my own research and realised it was not rice at all but in fact a type of pasta. I often include this the same way now; the butter adds a bold richness to the rice. I normally cook rice in a homemade vegetable or light chicken stock to add depth of flavour rather than just salted water; if you choose to use stock, you can omit the salt from the recipe below. For whatever reason, I found it difficult to find Orzo in UK supermarkets, it was the same here in Spain. But if it is stocked you can surely find it in the International Foods section or on the Pasta and Grains aisle; failing that there are numerous stockists online.
The leftover lamb was taken from my Andalusian Slow-roast Lamb Shoulder inspired Sunday Roast. It was full of rich flavours imbued from the rendered fat, and the fresh tomatoes that I’d layered over the joint (recipe coming soon). I chose not to smother in the usual garlic and rosemary mix, instead, I opted for this minimalist background of flavours to showcase the tenderness of the meat.
One of my favourite ingredients is tomatoes; I try not to store them in the fridge as this just stifles their aroma and taste. At the top of the list is treating them to a mellow slow-roasted, studded with garlic but equally sundried or the sun-blushed variety are right up there as well; for me, it’s just a reminder of hot summer days in Cyprus where I really woke up to sun vine-ripened tomatoes, rather than the often insipid and bitter flavour or tomatoes picked when they’re green and the ripened in refrigerated lorries as they travel thousands of miles to adorn the supermarket shelves. A gastronomical crime for sure!
So for this dish, I would strongly recommend that your try slow-roasting a handful of cherry tomatoes to include. I simply cut them in half, take a few garlic cloves that have been peeled and thickly sliced and then stuffed into the soft seedy part of the flesh, give them a generous dusting of sea salt and a liberal splash of good quality Spanish Olive Oil and then put them into the over on 180 degrees for about 45-minutes to an hour. Of course, the challenge for me is not eating them or spreading them over a toasted piece of a baguette before I need to add them to a recipe! A perfect treat for sure.
I’m a big fan of mushrooms and spinach and realising I had an ageing packet of each in the fridge, I thought I’d throw that into the mix as well. The mushrooms add a different texture along with their earthy flavours whilst the spinach adds a hint of bitterness to the sweet lamb.
If you don’t like spinach or just want to mix things up a little bit, you could leave the Spinach out and then allow the pasta to cool down a little bit and then add a handle full of rocket leaves dressed in a simple lemon, pepper and salt vinaigrette – but make sure you use a good quality Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Of course, you could easily substitute the Lamb leftovers with either Pork or Beef, but I think this dish works best with sweet tender lamb. I’d love to hear what you think of this dish and any substitutions you have made; here’s a couple of ideas – try adding diced courgettes or aubergines that have been gently sautéed, or even add a squeeze of lemon juice and some cinnamon to give it a Greek twist.
I urge you to go ahead and try my Lamb and Orzo Pasta Salad and as always let me know what you think in the comments below, and share any twists you may have added to inspire other readers to try.
Enjoy and “Buen almuerzo” (have a good lunch)!
Warm Lamb, Mushroom and Orzo Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 32cm Shallow casserole dish
- Wooden Spatula
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil Spanish Extra Virgin
- 1 Spanish Onion chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic peeled and sliced
- 250 grams Chanterelle Mushrooms thickly sliced or torn
- 1 glass Medium Dry White Wine recommend a Spanish Garnacha Blanca
- 300 grams Lamb Shoulder shredded or cut into small bite sized pieces
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes roasted
- 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
- 150 grams Orzo cooked
- 200 ml Vegetable Stock or light chicken stock
- 300 grams Spinach Leaves washed
- 150 ml Double Cream
- 1 tsp Black Pepper freshly ground
- 0.5 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Place a shallow casserole pan onto a medium heat and once warmed up add the olive oil, garlic and chopped onion and gently cook until the onion is translucent, approximately 5 minutes.
- Wash and clean the mushrooms and then thickly slice any large ones into 3/4 inch pieces. Add to the pan and cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes until the edges turn golden.
- Add the wine and reduce by half burning off the alcohol. Meanwhile prepare the lamb removing it from the bone and either shredding or cutting into small bite site chunks and add to the pan.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, paprika and the cooked orzo and mix together, cook until the lamb is heated through.
- Turn up the heat and add the chicken stock, spinach leaves and double cream. Reduce to thicken the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve onto warm plates or pasta bowls. This works well with crusty bread to mop up any run away sauce. Enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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