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Turkish Pasta (Viral TikTok Recipe)



Turkish Pasta (Viral TikTok Recipe)

This Turkish pasta is my tackle the viral TikTok recipe by creator Anna Paul. I layer heat pasta with a spiced floor beef tomato sauce, cool garlicky yogurt, and a scorching candy paprika-chili butter drizzle for that creamy, spicy, savory combo!

A plate of Turkish pasta shells topped with creamy white sauce, seasoned ground meat, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped fresh herbs, served on a ceramic dish.

What’s Turkish Pasta?

This dish took off on TikTok after creator Anna Paul posted a viral video of her mother making Turkish “pasta”. It’s a simplified tackle Turkish mantı, that are small dumplings full of spiced meat and served with garlicky yogurt and a spiced butter or oil. Turkish pasta is commonly known as “yalancı mantı,” which means “faux” or “cheat” mantı, as a result of genuine mantı are labor-intensive in contrast with utilizing pasta as a shortcut.

As an alternative of constructing the crammed dumplings, this recipe takes the entire similar daring flavors of Manti and turns it into one thing you may make for dinner any night time of the week. It is considered one of my favourite pasta recipes!

Layering is the important thing to this Turkish pasta! The boldly spiced meat sauce and Aleppo pepper butter are balanced by the cool, creamy yogurt. All the things comes collectively for a weeknight-friendly dinner that delivers the daring, comforting flavors of Turkish delicacies.

Serve this hearty pasta alongside pear salad with walnuts and honey-mustard dressing or persimmon salad throughout the fall and winter or with grilled peach salad throughout the summer season.

A close-up of Turkish pasta topped with ground meat, cherry tomatoes, chopped herbs, and yogurt, as a spoon drizzles spiced oil over the food.

Why You may Love This Recipe

  • Daring taste in each chew: I’ve particularly ordered the steps for this recipe to construct most taste. Blooming the spices instantly within the rendered beef fats earlier than including the tomato paste wakes them up and creates an unimaginable fragrant base.
  • Weeknight pleasant: Although there are a couple of elements to this dish, you may make it in about 40 minutes. Do not let anybody inform you you could’t make a scrumptious dinner on a busy weeknight!
  • Approachable components: This recipe makes use of components you could find in virtually any grocery retailer and that you could be have already got in your pantry. Even Aleppo pepper is out there at most mainstream supermarkets lately.
  • Simply gluten free: Because the pasta sauce and toppings are already gluten free, simply use your favourite gluten-free pasta if wanted.
A plate of Turkish pasta shells topped with creamy white sauce, seasoned ground meat, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped fresh parsley. A fork rests on the side of the plate.

Components and Substitutions

  • Plain yogurt: Full-fat most well-liked. Common yogurt or Greek yogurt will each work. Use your favourite plain dairy-free yogurt if you happen to want this recipe to be dairy-free.
  • Pasta: I like to make use of lumache pasta (aka shellbows). Any brief pasta, akin to fusilli, orrechiette, farfalle, and so on, will work, too.
  • Floor beef: Use floor lamb for a extra genuine and richer taste or swap in floor turkey for a leaner model.
  • Garlic: That is used within the yogurt sauce and the meat sauce.
  • Candy onion: I want utilizing grated onion to diced onion on this recipe. Grating the onion permits the it to utterly soften into the sauce, giving it a splendidly clean consistency that tenderizes the meat. Yellow onion or common white onion may also work.
  • Floor cumin: Provides superb, genuine taste!
  • Candy paprika: Used within the meat sauce and the chili butter.
  • Aleppo pepper: Generally labeled as “Aleppo pepper flakes.” Aleppo pepper has a fruity, barely smoky taste and average spice stage. It is rather in style in Center Japanese cooking and may be discovered in lots of mainstream supermarkets with the opposite spices. That is used within the meat sauce and chili butter. You may also use it in my pan-seared salmon with olives.
  • Tomato paste: For those who can, use Turkish crimson pepper paste (biber salçası) for a extra genuine taste.
  • Butter: Use your most well-liked dairy-free butter for a dairy-free model.
  • Cherry tomatoes: For garnish.
  • Contemporary parsley: For garnish. Contemporary mint would additionally complement the flavors of the pasta properly.
  • Additionally, you will want salt and black pepper to be used all through the recipe.
Ingredients for a Turkish pasta dish arranged on a light surface, labeled: ground beef, pasta, butter, salt, black pepper, paprika, cumin, cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, Aleppo pepper, onion, garlic, parsley.

Easy methods to Make Turkish Pasta (Step-by-Step Images)

This can be a recipe overview. Scroll down to search out the whole directions + ingredient quantities in the recipe card beneath.

  • Make the yogurt sauce: Combine collectively the yogurt, garlic, and salt. Place within the fridge till able to serve.
Side-by-side images of a mixing bowl: the left shows yogurt with minced garlic; the right reveals the mixture blended into a smooth, creamy texture.
  • Prepare dinner the pasta: Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare dinner the pasta in accordance with the package deal instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water earlier than draining.
  • Brown the meat: Add the meat to a chilly skillet, then place over medium-high warmth. Prepare dinner by means of however don’t drain the fats.
  • Add the onion: Add the onion to the meat and cook dinner for 4-5 minutes.
A side-by-side image of a white frying pan with cooked ground beef on the left, and on the right, the same pan with ground beef topped with a mound of finely chopped onions.
  • Add the garlic: Add the garlic to the pan and cook dinner for 1 extra minute.
  • Bloom the spices: Add the cumin, paprika, Aleppo pepper, salt, and black pepper. Prepare dinner, stirring continuously, for 30 seconds.
Two white pans with cooked ground meat: the left pan has minced garlic on top, while the right pan features spices sprinkled over the meat.
  • Add the tomato paste: Stir within the tomato paste and cook dinner for 1-2 minutes.
Side-by-side images of a white frying pan with cooked ground meat. Left: plain meat with a dollop of tomato paste. Right: meat mixed with tomato paste, creating a uniform reddish color.
  • End the sauce: Pour within the reserved pasta water and let the sauce simmer for 10-Quarter-hour. Style and alter seasoning as wanted.
Two side-by-side images show a white skillet with cooked ground beef in a red sauce. In the left image, a hand pours liquid from a glass measuring cup; in the right, the mixture appears more saucy and simmered.
  • Make the chili butter: Soften butter in a separate skillet. Add the paprika and Aleppo pepper and cook dinner for 30 seconds, till aromatic. Pour right into a bowl for serving.
Side-by-side images of a saucepan with melted butter and spices for chili butter on the left, and the same pan with the spices mixed in, turning the butter a deep orange-red sauce on the right.
  • Assemble the Turkish pasta: Place cooked pasta on a plate. High first with the garlic yogurt, then spoon over a number of the meat sauce. End with a drizzle of the chili butter. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and contemporary herbs.
Two plates of Turkish pasta shells: the left plate features pasta with a white yogurt sauce, while the right plate shows the same dish now topped with ground meat, cherry tomatoes, and herbs.
A plate of Turkish pasta shells topped with ground meat sauce, sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped herbs, and yogurt sauce, served on a wooden board with salt, pepper, and a bowl of yogurt nearby.

Storage and Reheating

  • Fridge: You may retailer leftover Turkish pasta within the fridge for as much as 3 days. I like to recommend storing the elements in separate hermetic containers and assembling the pasta solely while you’re able to eat. For those who already blended the elements, you’ll be able to retailer the leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for a similar period of time.
  • Reheating: I like to recommend reheating the meat sauce within the microwave or in a saucepan over medium warmth. Already assembled pasta may be reheated within the microwave in 30-second intervals.
A plate of Turkish pasta shells topped with creamy white sauce, seasoned ground beef, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped fresh parsley, served on a rustic wooden surface.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions

Will the yogurt curdle on scorching pasta?

I hold the yogurt chilly and place it underneath the recent pasta/sauce or dollop it on high proper earlier than serving, with out simmering.

Is full-fat yogurt needed?

It’s for me. It supplies that genuine creamy dollop with out watering down; low-fat thins out quick. Pressure non-fat Greek if that is your solely possibility, or attempt labneh for further tang.

How spicy is Aleppo pepper?

Aleppo pepper, additionally known as pul biber, is light and fruity and usually milder than customary crimson pepper flakes. In case you are heat-averse, halve it; in order for you extra kick, add a pinch of crimson pepper flakes to the chili butter.

Can I make it dairy-free?

Sure: use olive oil as an alternative of butter and a wealthy, unsweetened plant-based yogurt. Style and stability with a squeeze of lemon and further salt to imitate dairy’s richness.

Can I make this vegetarian?

Completely, swap floor beef for lentils or Past Meat crumbles and brown them the identical means. You may add further cumin for heartiness and daring taste.

What if my meat sauce is just too thick/skinny?

Too thick: add scorching pasta water a splash at a time till shiny and spoonable. Too skinny: simmer uncovered a couple of minutes to scale back; the tomato paste will tighten it.

Can I double this for a crowd?

Completely. Brown the meat in batches to keep away from steaming, then mix for the spice/tomato paste step. Prepare dinner pasta in two pots or consecutively so water stays at a rolling boil.

Two plates of Turkish pasta shells topped with ground meat sauce, creamy yogurt sauce, and halved cherry tomatoes, garnished with herbs. A bowl of sauce and extra cherry tomatoes sit nearby on the table.
A plate of Turkish pasta shells topped with creamy white sauce, seasoned ground meat, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped fresh parsley. A fork rests on the side of the plate.

Print

Turkish Pasta

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This Turkish pasta is my tackle the viral TikTok recipe by creator Anna Paul. I layer heat pasta with a spiced floor beef tomato sauce, cool garlicky yogurt, and a scorching candy paprika-chili butter drizzle. All the things comes collectively rapidly for a weeknight-friendly dinner that delivers the daring, comforting flavors of Turkish delicacies. This recipe can also be usually known as “yalancı mantı,” which means “faux” or “cheat” mantı.
Course Essential Course
Delicacies Center Japanese
Key phrase turkish pasta
Prep Time 15 minutes
Prepare dinner Time 25 minutes
Complete Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Energy 851kcal
Creator Julia

Gear

  • Massive pot
  • Massive skillet
  • Small saucepan
  • Field grater

Components

For the Garlic Yogurt Sauce:

  • 2 cups plain yogurt full-fat most well-liked
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the Meat Sauce:

  • 1 pound lumache pasta shellbows (see notes)
  • kilos floor beef
  • 1 cup candy onion grated
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon floor cumin
  • 2 teaspoon candy paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup tomato paste see notes
  • 1 cup reserved pasta water

For the Chili Butter:

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon candy paprika
  • ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes

Garnish:

  • 1 pint contemporary cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
  • Contemporary parsley chopped

Directions

Make the Yogurt Sauce

  • In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, and salt. Put aside within the fridge.

Make the Meat Sauce

  • Fill a big pot with water for the pasta. Salt it generously, and produce it to a boil.
  • As soon as boiling, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook dinner in accordance with package deal instructions. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water earlier than draining.
  • Whereas the pasta cooks, place the bottom beef in a big, chilly skillet. Flip the warmth to medium-high and cook dinner, breaking the meat aside, till it’s browned and the fats has rendered. Don’t drain.
  • Cut back the warmth to medium, add the grated onion, and cook dinner for 4-5 minutes till very gentle.
  • Add the minced garlic and cook dinner for 1 minute extra till aromatic.
  • Add the cumin, candy paprika, Aleppo pepper, salt and black pepper to the skillet. Stir continuously for 30 seconds.
  • Stir within the tomato paste and cook dinner for 1-2 minutes.
  • Pour within the reserved pasta water, convey to a simmer, then scale back warmth to low, cowl, and let it cook dinner for 10-Quarter-hour. Style and alter the seasoning.

Make the Chili Butter and Assemble

  • In a small saucepan, soften the butter over low warmth. Stir within the paprika and Aleppo pepper and let it sizzle for 30 seconds till aromatic, being cautious to not burn it.
  • Divide the pasta amongst 4 plates or bowls. High every serving with a big dollop of the garlic yogurt, adopted by a scoop of the meat sauce. Scatter the contemporary cherry tomatoes and chopped parsley excessive. End by drizzling the scorching spiced butter over every little thing and serve instantly.

Notes

  • Grating the onion permits it to completely soften into the sauce, giving the sauce a splendidly clean consistency that tenderizes the meat. 
  • Reserve your pasta water: The starchy water is ideal for thinning the yogurt sauce if it is too thick, or for including to the meat sauce.
  • Do not Burn the Butter: Soften chili butter low and sluggish, scorching for simply 30 seconds. Overheating will flip it bitter.
  • Chill Yogurt First: Full-fat yogurt straight from the fridge holds its form for dolloping; room-temp variations skinny out and blend in an excessive amount of, diluting the creamy distinction.
  • The layering is essential: Serving the elements in layers creates an exquisite distinction of scorching pasta and meat, yogurt, and contemporary toppings. Do not combine all of it collectively beforehand!

Substitutions:

  • Any brief pasta form like penne, fusilli, or orecchiette works nicely instead of shellbows.
  • For a extra genuine taste, use Turkish crimson pepper paste (biber salçası) as an alternative of tomato paste. It provides a deep, savory, barely smoky taste attribute of Turkish cooking.
  • Floor lamb can be utilized instead of floor beef for a extra conventional, richer taste. Floor turkey additionally works.
  • If you do not have a candy onion, use an everyday yellow onion.

Storage & reheating:

  • Retailer leftovers refrigerated in hermetic containers for as much as 3 days. It’s best to retailer the elements in separate containers, however they’ll hold for a similar period of time if already blended collectively.
  • Reheating suggestions: Reheat leftover meat sauce in a pan over medium-low warmth or within the microwave. Assemble the dish with contemporary pasta and chilly yogurt sauce. If reheating a totally assembled portion, achieve this in 30-second intervals. 

Vitamin

Energy: 851kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 52g | Fats: 25g | Saturated Fats: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 7g | Trans Fats: 1g | Ldl cholesterol: 134mg | Sodium: 1279mg | Potassium: 1481mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 2269IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 233mg | Iron: 7mg
A plate of Turkish pasta shells topped with creamy yogurt sauce, seasoned ground meat, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.



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