This recipe was everything that I could ever want on a weeknight or weekend for that matter.  It is quick, easy and delicious.   The yogurt glides over the pasta, giving it a luxurious but not fatty mouth feel. The herbs enliven the dish and the Aleppo pepper marries beautifully with the flavor of the lamb and gives off a subtle heat.   Aleppo pepper is grown in the Aleppo region of Syria and is also known as Halaby Pepper.  It has a moderate heat level and a fruity character, somewhat similar to ancho peppers. If you don’t have any Aleppo pepper in your spice rack you could use an equal amount of paprika with a pinch of cayenne.  My favorite Aleppo pepper comes from Penzey’s Spices.  I did make some minor adjustments to the recipe—I doubled the aleppo pepper because I wanted a little bit more heat.  I substituted shallots for the onion  and I increased the amount of garlic. I also browned the onion and garlic for additional flavor.  Last but not least I added 2 Tbsp. of chopped cilantro and used dried mint instead of fresh.   Make sure to really brown the ground lamb until it is crispy in spots.  This really adds flavor and an extra note of texture to this dish.

Happy Eating!

Spaghettini with Ground Lamb, Yogurt and Mint

Serves 4-6 (This recipe is easily multiplied for a crowd or halved for a couple.)

Adapted From Olives and Oranges

By Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox

2 cups plain, whole milk yogurt.  I like Straus’ Organic and Pavel’s

1 tsp. Aleppo Pepper or more to taste

2 garlic cloves mashed to a paste or grated

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves or 3 Tbsp dried mint

2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped cilantro (optional)

2 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup minced Shallots

¼ cup pine nuts

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 pounds ground lamb

1 pound spaghettini (Linguine, tagliatelle or spaghetti would work too.)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Stir together the yogurt, Aleppo pepper, the grated or mashed garlic, the cilantro and the mint in a medium bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallot and chopped garlic to the skillet and brown. Add this to the yogurt mixture.
4. Melt the butter in the skillet used for the shallot and garlic.  Add the pine nuts and allow them to brown slightly.  Add the toasted pine nuts and butter to the yogurt mixture.  Stir to combine.
5. Add 1/3 of the lamb to the skillet. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally until the lamb is brown and crispy in spots.  This will take about 5-8 minutes per batch.  Set the browned lamb aside and repeat with the remaining 2 batches of lamb.   The lamb should give off a little bit of liquid.  If it doesn’t, simply deglaze the pan with a few tablespoons of water after the final batch has been browned.  Pour this liquid over the browned lamb.
6. When the last batch of lamb is browning cook the pasta.  Cook the pasta to your desired doneness.  Transfer the pasta back to the empty pasta pot.  Immediately toss in the yogurt and lamb.  Season to taste with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  Serve immediately.

If I were to invite guests over for dinner, I would round out the meal with a green salad, purchased flatbread and pomegranate sorbet or baklava for dessert.  A simple and delicious dip for the flatbread can be made by combining ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil with 2 tsp of Zatar.*

*Zatar is a middle eastern spice blend made from sumac, sesame seeds, thyme leaves and salt.  It is available at some gourmet grocery stores and at penzeys.com