Baked Lamb Orzo

This is officially my favorite new food - I almost had to chain myself to the couch to keep from going back for more. A great solution for leftover lamb, this is a combo of a healthy-delicious.com recipe, my own recent experience with "high-end youvetsi" and the impassioned advice of my buddy Charlie and his wife (I'm sure she has a name...) from the New England Meat Market.

Baked Lamb Orzo
8 oz. of orzo

1 lb. or so leftover lamb, finely chopped/minced

1 onion, diced (or 1 or 2 shallots)
2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 to 2 tsps. fresh oregano, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 oz. tomato paste

Parmesan and/or feta cheese to taste (usually around 2 to 3 oz.)

- Start boiling water/stock for orzo in a medium to large saucepan (I usually use a mix of water and lamb or chicken stock if I can - if you're the kind of person who freezes stock as ice cubes, this is a good time to throw some in).
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Dice lamb while oven and water are heating up.
- In an oven-proof pan, brown the lamb on medium-high for about 5 minutes. I saute it in a combo of olive oil and lamb drippings/gravy if I can, otherwise just 2 tbsps. olive oil.
- Dice onions/shallots and garlic while lamb cooking.
- Remove the lamb. Saute garlic and onions in remaining juices for about 5 minutes on low, stirring occasionally.
- Dice tomatoes and open other ingredients while garlic/onion mix cooking.
- Add orzo to boiling water. Cook up to 10 minutes and strain.
- Directly after adding orzo, add oregano, tomatoes, wine, cumin, cinnamon, and tomato paste to garlic/onion mix and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  If you need to chop up cheese, this is a good time.
- Stir in the orzo, lamb, and cheese to the tomato mix in the oven-proof pan.
- Bake covered for 20 min (may want to sprinkle extra cheese on top).