Terri Andersonon March 29, 2017 at 2:17 am
Ohhh! My throat is a little sore, too. How well does it ship?!
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mybigfatgreekfannyon March 29, 2017 at 2:28 am
Haha! It ships well. Looks like we lots of manestra for lemons trading in our future
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Artanon April 30, 2023 at 1:45 pm
how is it original, with minced meat or non-minced meat?
elenisaltason June 14, 2023 at 3:08 am
traditionally without minced meat!
Angela Franchowon November 17, 2021 at 11:22 pm
I just made this! So yummy!
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elenisaltason November 18, 2021 at 5:33 pm
Ah that makes me so happy to hear, thank you!
George Fanopouloson October 19, 2022 at 7:23 pm
It’s simmering on the stove right now. The house smells amazing . Thank you so much for the recipe Eleni, Much Appreciated 👍
elenisaltason October 22, 2022 at 2:44 am
It’s my pleasure! I hope you enjoy 🙂
Miss Delia Martinion October 4, 2022 at 10:40 am
I agree in Greek it’s Kritheraki. But in the UK it’s popular as Orzo. I usually buy a Greek brand though. My Mother in law taught me to make this but we bake in the oven in a tapsi. It’s my favourite comfort food along with Youvetsi. Nice to see original Greek recipes. Thank you for sharing.
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elenisaltason October 22, 2022 at 2:47 am
Ah interesting! Yes I always knew It as orzo through my yiayia. Youvetsi is such a great dish, I need to add It to my website thank you for the good reminder! And thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. Makes me so happy to share 🙂
Alanna Pikeon April 30, 2023 at 10:10 pm
I couldn’t find orzo locally so I used up my last box of pastina to try this recipe. It’s currently finishing up and my house smells delicious!
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elenisaltason June 14, 2023 at 3:07 am
oh that’s perfect! and love when the house smells nice from food cooking 🙂
Anonymouson March 29, 2017 at 4:00 am
Looks wonderful and can’t wait to try her/your receipt!!!
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mybigfatgreekfannyon March 29, 2017 at 4:01 am
Thanks so much! It’s delicious. I hope you try it and like it as much as I do 🙂
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katinahughes2014on March 30, 2017 at 12:36 pm
Please, please, please….it is KRITHARAKI…..not orzo (Spanish) or manestra (Italian)! It’s like fingers on a blackboard when I hear kritharaki, a very nice Greek word, called by any other foreign word.
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mybigfatgreekfannyon March 30, 2017 at 8:20 pm
Hi Katina, thank you for your comment. My family (and many others) go by the name of manestra, as it’s the type of grain we use. I’ve researched and discovered the dish goes by many names (orzo, manestra, and of course kritharaki). My yiayia always called it manestra, so that’s why I named it as such. I will edit and mention it’s actual name of Kritharaki, because I do agree, that’s what it really is! I just like the tradition from my yiayia 🙂
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Theodore Galanison July 5, 2020 at 7:03 am
Thank you for posting your Yiayia’s recipe.
My father used to make this and I tried this recipe for the first time a few weeks ago.
It wasn’t as good as my dad’s, but that’s my fault not yours.
I’m about to try it again now.
Wish me luck.elenisaltason July 5, 2020 at 5:12 pm
Sometimes we become acquired to the way our parents/grandparents make things that no matter what, nothing will compare. I’m the same way with many things. And I’m totally ok with that! I hope you still liked the flavor.
Theodore Galanison July 5, 2020 at 7:05 am
I call it manestra because that’s what my Greek father called it.
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Hellen Papadopouloson August 7, 2020 at 6:00 am
I never knew this dish as anything else but kritharaki. I didn’t know what orzo was I had to look it up on Google.
I made this for dinner and absolutely loved it.
Thankyou for sharing this recipe.
Thankyou. 💯⭐👍👍elenisaltason August 7, 2020 at 5:46 pm
Oh yes, technically it’s called kritharaki but since my yiayia used packages of orzo, she calls It orzo! So glad you liked the dish that always makes me so happy to hear 🙂
Anonymouson January 9, 2021 at 3:06 am
Yes my grandmother called it manestra. And she was born in Greece in 1920. Maybe it depends what part of Greece you come from.
Anonymouson March 16, 2021 at 12:51 am
Manestra is what the Macedonians call Orzo.
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chefkresoon March 31, 2017 at 4:55 pm
Looks fantastic, love the traditional tasty recipes like this one 😀
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mybigfatgreekfannyon March 31, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Thanks so much! 🤗 traditional is my fave
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Lousi73 (@lousi73)on November 9, 2017 at 6:02 pm
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for the amazing recipe. My kids love it and are disappointed if it’s not on the menu for the week, lol! Efxaharistoume, yiayia!
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elenisaltason November 9, 2017 at 6:56 pm
Ah I am happy to hear that you and your kids love the dish! So funny they get disappointed if you don’t make it because that’s how i get too LOL! Thanks for tasting and making, I will tell my Yiayia she has a fan! 🙂
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Dawnaon June 14, 2018 at 2:32 am
My mother always called it Manestra too I still call it Manestra.
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elenisaltason June 14, 2018 at 2:42 am
Ah yes, everyone seems to have a different name for It! I like manestra 😋
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Helenaon July 30, 2020 at 12:31 pm
Love this so much!!! Reminds me of my Yiayia too! She always called it manestra. My mom always made it for us growing up using my Yiayia’s recipe. Making some tonight for my little Amalia, and carrying on the tradition of “manestra” ❤️😘
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elenisaltason August 3, 2020 at 4:15 pm
Love the dishes that remind you of your yiayia/grandparents! Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy the dish. <3
Anna Pelonis-Millson October 20, 2023 at 6:25 am
Hi! Could I used crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce + diced tomatoes? Thank you. 🙂
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elenisaltason October 23, 2023 at 10:45 pm
yes absolutely!
Panayotaon October 15, 2018 at 11:39 pm
Thank you for this recipe! Just made this and my boys loved it!! I usually make this manestra dish with chicken, never made it with ground beef. Super tasty! I will definitely be making this again :).
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elenisaltason October 16, 2018 at 2:20 am
So happy to hear you tried, and liked this dish! It’s always been a hit in my home so I love to see it’s reaching others. Thank you 🙂
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Anonymouson June 29, 2019 at 3:48 pm
We used to have it as a side to roast leg of lamb…no meat in it but with the lamb drippings and lemon juice instead of cinnamon
elenisaltason June 29, 2019 at 4:36 pm
Mmmmm that sounds perfect! And now I want lamb 😋
ginniezanon December 5, 2018 at 11:02 am
My Yiayia called it Manestra also. She was born in Lemnos. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
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elenisaltason December 5, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Yes maybe It is a regional thing! Many Greek dishes are called different names based on region. My Yiayia calls this one orzo because the pasta package she uses is orzo haha.. simple as It gets
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vassilios papadikison October 13, 2022 at 4:44 am
it is a regional thing, Eleni, you are a very lucky girl having your grandma spoiling you and passing over traditiones and culture, i had the same from my mother and sister, greek food are very tasty and healthy, tomorrow i ll do the arni pilafi, i do add cumin, i recomend you try it.
keep it up
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elenisaltason October 22, 2022 at 2:44 am
ooh i’ll have to try with cumin, thank you! And yes, feeling very blessed indeed 🙂
Danielleon August 2, 2019 at 11:45 pm
What do you mean by “cans of tomato sauce”? Is it puree?
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elenisaltason August 4, 2019 at 5:24 am
Hey Danielle, yes tomato sauce is basically the same as puree if you can’t find the cans of sauce! Tomato puree is just a bit thicker, so you may need to add more liquid to adjust. Hope that helps!
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Lenny Lefkaditison December 18, 2019 at 1:21 pm
Hi Im Indonesian married Greek man, I just tried this recipe and it was yuuumm..will give to my family tomorrow, Im sure they would like it. Thank you Eleni!
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elenisaltason December 18, 2019 at 9:43 pm
Oh my goodness, that makes me so happy to hear! It’s seriously one of my favorite recipes, so I’m glad you enjoyed It as well. Thank you for sharing!
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Anonymouson April 28, 2020 at 10:55 pm
Hi. If using beef broth when do you include ? Thx !
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elenisaltason April 29, 2020 at 7:27 pm
Hi! Add It the same time as the water, or do half and half. I like to add It when I think the pot needs more liquid, as well as when I reheat the orzo, I’ll always had broth because It will thicken as It sits. Enjoy 🙂
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Odette Fryon September 29, 2020 at 10:17 am
This dish reminds me of something similar. Not sure of spelling but we called it Pasta sh*ta. A family friend always made it for us when he visited.
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Pamelaon April 1, 2021 at 2:24 pm
Call it by any name you like…but mostly call it delicious! My grocery store only stocks Orzo, so that’s what I use. Thank you for sharing this priceless recipe.
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elenisaltason May 17, 2021 at 3:21 pm
Ah that makes me so happy to hear Pamela. It’s definitely a favorite in our home and I hope It will be in yours, too.
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Efthimiaon October 16, 2021 at 11:30 am
Been eating this all my life but mom never used ground beef. She actually bakes hers with either a beef tenderloin or chicken. Give that a shot!
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elenisaltason October 18, 2021 at 9:47 pm
Oh yes, I need to post a recipe like that. Technically that way is called yiovetsi/giouvetsi. So goood! 🙂
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Susieon February 11, 2022 at 9:57 pm
This looks like an awesome manestra recipe, thank you! We like to jazz it up with feta cheese and Kalamata olives. Your yaiyai and you are very sweet people 😍
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elenisaltason February 15, 2022 at 2:45 am
Oh yum that sounds nice to add some saltiness to the meal! thank you so much 🙂
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Katherine Tallis Hallon September 26, 2022 at 5:52 pm
Elena, this is absolutely delicious! I am A first generation Macedonian/Greek and we call it Manestra and we use orzo shaped pasta because that’s what’s available. We also bake it with beef or pork shanks until fall-from-the-bone tender. I love your recipes and amazing sense of flavours. Thank you for this humble recipe!
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elenisaltason October 22, 2022 at 2:49 am
So happy to share recipes like this and to see so many people like you leave such nice comments! Fall of the bone anything sounds wonderful! I need to put up a youvetsi recipe.
Jasminon May 8, 2023 at 10:41 pm
This looks so delicious! But as a single person feeding only myself, is this a “make portion in recipe and eat leftovers for days” or “best eaten fresh, so scale down to what you can eat in one meal” type of dish?
elenisaltason June 14, 2023 at 3:09 am
So sorry to get back to you so late on this one! I’ll have to share more recipes for one portion. This one you can cut in half for sure and have leftovers for a few days for yourself!
Danielleon May 15, 2023 at 8:31 am
Hi Elena, I saw this recipe on Instagram this week – wasn’t sure what to expect but the cinnamon and oregano takes it to another level. Definitely will be a winter favourite in this household so thankyou!
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elenisaltason June 14, 2023 at 3:09 am
OH MY. thank you so much for coming here and sharing that with me I really appreciate It! So glad you loved the dish 🙂
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LAURA A KNAPPon May 20, 2023 at 2:55 pm
Hello Eleni! I am going to make this hopefully this weekend. It looks so delicious and I wish my Grandmother was alive to make it with me. I had 1 question, do you suggest water or beef broth?
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elenisaltason June 14, 2023 at 3:10 am
OH no i’m sorry to get back to you so late on this one. I personally do a mix of both, and really love adding beef broth for more flavor! When I used the diced tomatoes, I use water to refill the cans. And then, as more liquid is needed I use beef broth. Let me know if you make It! xo
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Alex Bon December 3, 2023 at 10:31 pm
Can’t wait to try! My mom (we are Greek too) made chuck roast and Manestra in the oven 🙂 Have you tried this with chuck roast or other meat cuts? Ever tried in a crock pot? Can’t wait to try!
elenisaltason December 4, 2023 at 3:21 am
Thank you! Yes, I love roasts in the crock pot It’s so easy to just throw in some meat and veggies and whatever flavor you’d like.
Anonymouson April 29, 2024 at 7:25 pm
I made it for my husband, as I told you, and he had 3 servings. I made it again for our friends and they RAVED about this dish. Due to not eating meat, its excellent with Beyond Burger or Impossible Burger instead of ground beef. Thank you Eleni!
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elenisaltason May 3, 2024 at 3:05 am
oh my YAY! this is such a special dish to me so this means so much to hear from you. So glad you loved It and glad It worked with impossible meat!
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