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One of the reasons why I particularly love Greek cuisine is that meat is often included Cinnamon is seasoned. And that crispy fried minced meat with it Feta is filled. That’s what it’s called Bifteki. And because the dried oregano that I brought with me after each of my visits to Greece smells particularly intense. And then there are the wonderful little ones rice-shaped noodleswho there answer to the name Kritharaki. The great thing about them is that they are cooked directly in the sauce, making them the number 1 candidate for so-called “one-pot” dishes. And even though this dish only requires one pan with a lid, it still qualifies as a one-pot for me despite two cooking steps. Meatballs, unless they appear as Königsberger meatballs, are simply better when fried.
The dish is actually a fusion of two wonderful Mediterranean cuisines. On the one hand, there are pasta, tomatoes, basil and parmesan, which clearly points towards Italy, and then there are the irresistible meatballs, which are seasoned with mint, oregano, cinnamon and feta. Classic for Greek bifteki.
Who now ripe tomatoes If you get it at the market or in your own garden, you can easily replace the pureed tomatoes with fresh pureed tomatoes. That makes the whole thing a little fruitier.
As a variation, you can also stir a large handful of baby spinach into the cooked pasta.
Bifteki balls with tomato orzo
For two
250g mixed minced meat
3 tbsp panko or breadcrumbs (I love panko crumbs)
1 egg
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried mint
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 small onion, finely chopped
100 g feta from sheep’s cheese (not all of it is used for the balls, the rest goes with the pasta)
2 tbsp olive oil
125 g orzo (also called pasta rice, risoni or kritharaki – small, rice-shaped noodles)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
250 ml chicken stock
200 ml pureed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
some lemon juice
½ bunch of basil, the leaves roughly chopped
60 g Parmesan, freshly grated
Mix the minced meat with the egg, breadcrumbs, herbs, onion, cinnamon and salt and form it into balls the size of table tennis balls. Make a dent in it with your thumb, place a small piece of feta in it and form it into a ball again.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the balls until crispy on all sides. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Add the remaining olive oil and fry the garlic in it. Deglaze with the chicken stock. Add orzo, tomato paste, oregano and pureed tomatoes. Crumble the remaining feta and add it too. Simmer with the lid closed for about 9 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Finally stir in the basil and a quarter of the Parmesan.
Place the balls on the pasta and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.