Favourite recipes #1 - Youvetsi

I have to confess that my major vice is cookbooks.

I can't get enough of them and I have tons of them (ask my husband, he doesn't understand why you need so many!), but I just love to read them and cook from them of course - but most of all just to read them. For me, they're the ultimate in dip-in-and-out-of easy reading and the best bedtime genre too. For a list of my top reads, see the list to the right.

This greek recipe has become a favourite of mine for a mid week supper and comes from the beautiful "Falling Cloudberries" by Tessa Kiros.

I tweak it to suit our tastes as my other half dislikes lamb so I usually use good quality beef braising steak instead, and sometimes I've used larger pasta shapes if I've not had the risoni or orzo specified to hand...but somehow it does taste so much better with risoni or orzo, so do try and source it if you can! Barillo is a particularly good Italian brand that makes risoni.

Youvetsi (Lamb & tomato with rice-shaped noodles)
Serves 4-6

3 tablespoons olive oil
800g lamb shoulder or leg meat, cut into 3cm chunks
2 red onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
600g tinned tomatoes with juice, chopped
1 piece of cassia bark - or cinnamon stick
30g butter
400g risoni or orzo (small rice-shaped pasta)
grated Parmesan, pecorino or kefalotiri cheese, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180.C(350.F/Gas4). Heat the olive oil in a casserole and fry off the meat in batches until golden on all sides. Transfer to a plate and add the chopped onions to the casserole and saute until golden and softened, stirring all the time so they don't stick (adding another drop of oil if you think it needs it). Then add the garlic and cook for a minute before adding the meat back to the pan. Tip in the tomatoes, crushing them with a wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper, and add the cassia or cinnamon and butter. Let it all bubble for 5 minutes or so before adding 1 litre (4cups) of hot water. Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender - it should be very soft.

Rinse the pasta and add to the casserole. Mix through, cover and return to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and has absorbed most of the sauce. The cooking time will depend on the pasta - it will usually take twice as long to cook in the oven as it would on the hob according to the packet instructions. Watch if it gets too dry and add a little hot water if you feel it needs it. Serve hot and sprinkled with grated cheese.

If you're not serving right away, remove the casserole from the oven before the pasta is totally cooked as the residual heat will continue to finish off the cooking while it stands.