Cheat’s manti

Ingredients

For the kiymali makarna

• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 small carrot, finely diced
• 2 sivri biber or 1 medium green pepper, deseeded and finely diced
• 450g minced beef or lamb
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 200g can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• A small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 400g dried conchiglie

For the garlic yoghurt

• 400g Turkish or Greek yoghurt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed with salt and finely chopped

For the spiced oil

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp pul biber
• 2 tsp dried mint

Method

About 40 minutes before you plan to serve, take the yoghurt out of the refrigerator and place in a bowl. Stir the garlic into the yoghurt, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Cover and set aside to bring to room temperature.

Pour 3 tbsp olive oil into a wide heavy pan and place over a medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and saute for 5 mins, then stir in the carrots and peppers for a further 2-3 mins. Add the minced meat and garlic and continue for 4-5 mins until the meat is browned, stirring continuously.

Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and 200ml water, swirling a little of the water in the can to get any remaining bits of tomato. Season with cumin, salt and black pepper, stir to combine and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 mins, stirring occasionally. The sauce will have thickened; check the seasoning and add more salt or black pepper, if needed. Stir in the parsley and turn off the heat.

About 10 mins before the meat sauce finishes cooking, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain the pasta then return it to the pan and drizzle over a little olive oil, so the pasta doesn’t stick.

Pour the olive oil for the spiced oil into a pan, place over a low-medium heat, stir in the pul biber and dried mint and gently infuse for 35-40 seconds.

Distribute the pasta among your serving bowls. Ladle over the meat sauce then scatter with dollops of garlic yoghurt. Drizzle some spiced olive oil and serve immediately.

Image: Sam Harris

Recipe from Istanbul by Özlem Warren (Quadrille)