Introducing Beef Stifado & Orzo: Effortless in the Slow Cooker

This slow cooked Beef Stifado and Orzo is absolutely delicious. Accidentally I used thin beef steaks instead of cubes but it worked well and so it is the way I am going to do it next time too!

It is the first time I have used alcohol in cooking since I gave it up! My son assures me that it complete burns off because it is cooked for longer than 3 hours. Not that I can’t have the red wine, I have just decided not to drink any more.

Have to admit I had never heard of this dish before. Or even orzo! We would say it is like pasta that looks like rice! Anyway it was another great recipe from Bored of Lunch on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

Everything cooks in the slow cooker. Alternatively to orzo you could also use penne or tagliatelle. 

What you Need to Make Beef Stifado & Orzo Slow Cooked

Obviously as the title suggests you are going to need a Slow Cooker. There’s only four of us at home now and therefore we only need to make four good sized meals. Yes even our Sensory Seeker loved this recipe so he wanted a proper adult sized dish too. Saying that our slow cooker is a pretty small one. We actually have two for when the six of us were at home.

Equipment

• Slow Cooker
• Knife
• Chopping Board
• Teaspoons
• Measuring jug
• Serving spoon

Ingredients:

• 400g beef (I used steaks but diced beef would also work)
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 x onion (or frozen onions)
• Beef Bisto with 300ml of water (or beef stock)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 3 carrots
• 330g of dry orzo or penne
• 100ml red wine
• 300ml and additional 700ml beef stock
• Grated Cheese to top

Seasoning

• 1 tsp oregano
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 x bay leaves
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp parsley
• Salt and pepper

How to Make Beef Stifado & Orzo: The Slow Cooker Method:

1. Add everything to the slow cooker with the exception of the orzo, additional (700ml) stock and cheese
2. Cook on high for 3 hours or low all day
   Add the orzo and additional (700ml) stock and cook on high for 45/50 mins until the pasta has cooked and absorbed the additional stock. Different shapes of pasta may require more stock but you can add more if required
3. Serve and top with cheese.

Note if like me you do not drink alcohol then you can freeze the leftover wine. Personally I have popped ours into an ice cube tray so it’s easy to use next time.

I do wonder if you could use minced beef also. Has anyone tried it?

See the other Slow Cooker Recipes