Arabic Pasta with Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

For the pasta:

• 400 g pasta I used mafalda corta
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the meat:

• 700 g extra lean ground beef
• 2 cups chopped white onions roughly 2 medium onions
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons allspice you can also use 7 spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 5 tablespoons tomato sauce

For the sauce:

• 2.5 cups plain full fat yogurt 750g
• ½ cup tahini paste
• 1 large garlic clove crushed
• 4 teaspoons dried mint more per preference
• ½ teaspoon salt
• A squeeze of lemon

For garnish:

• Toasted pine nuts
• Fresh herbs

Instructions

1. Start by boiling the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and then drizzle with olive oil and set aside
2. Meanwhile, make the meat mixture by firstly cooking the chopped onion with the olive oil on medium high heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes
3. Add the ground beef and break it up into small pieces and cook it for 5-7 minutes, until browned and most of the moisture has dried up
4. Add all the spices and the tomato sauce and mix well. Taste and adjust
5. To make the yogurt sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients together using a fork (do not use a blender)
6. Toast the pine nuts with half a tablespoon of olive oil on a pan until lightly golden
7. To serve, layer the pasta, add the ground beef mixture, then the yogurt sauce, and top with the pine nuts and any fresh herbs you like. Enjoy!