Pasta – Makarna

Baked pasta with courgettes, cheese and béchamel – Kabaklı peynirli fırın makarna

By Ozlem Warren on June 5, 2023 in Pasta – Makarna, Vegetarian recipes 0

This is a delicious, easy, comforting pasta bake that you can prepare ahead. Dried mint adds a refreshing touch; I used medium cheddar, though you can use any melting cheese you like – I love grated halloumi here too. I try to squeeze in vegetables into my pasta bakes and bountiful courgettes work well here; feel free to use other vegetables in hand too.

Serve this delicious pata bake with a refreshing salad. Shepherd’s Salad, Coban Salatasi, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, for instance would be a wonderful match served aside. Please kindly note that this pasta bake is not included in my cookery book. Afiyet Olsun.

Baked pasta with courgettes, cheese and béchamel – Kabaklı peynirli fırın makarna

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian pasta bake

Cuisine: Turkish / Mediterranean

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

2 medium courgettes, grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2tbsp olive oil
1tsp dried mint
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
450g penne (or pasta or your choice)
110g grated mild cheddar (to sprinkle on top)
For the white sauce:
480ml warm milk (I prefer whole milk)
110g grated medium cheddar
45g unsalted butter
3tbsp plain flour

Instructions

Place grated courgettes in a bowl, sprinkle salt over top and leave to drain for 10 minutes. Then squeeze out the excess moisture, leave a side.
Pour olive oil in a wide pan, stir in the courgettes and garlic; sauté over medium to high heat for 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add dried mint, combine well and set aside to cool.
Cook the pasta al dente (as suggested on its package), drain, and place on a large mixing bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil and combine so it won’t stick. Set aside.
Preheat fan oven to 180C/350F.
Make the white sauce by melting the butter in a medium sized pan, on a low to medium heat. Add the flour and beat well. Slowly add the warm milk whisking continuously to get a smooth consistency and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the sautéed courgettes and cheese and combine well. Turn the heat off.
Combine the sauce with the cooked pasta in the large bowl, mix well. Place and spread the mixture in a 30x25cm baking dish. Sprinkle 110g grated cheese over and bake in the preheated oven for 18 – 20 minutes, until it is golden on top.
Let it cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with a refreshing salad. Shepherd’s Salad, Coban Salatasi, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, for instance would be a wonderful match served aside. Please kindly note that this pasta bake is not included in my cookery book. Afiyet Olsun.

Cheat Manti, Kiymali Makarna – Pasta with Turkish ragout sauce, garlicky yoghurt and Pul biber olive oil

By Ozlem Warren on October 5, 2021 in Pasta – Makarna 2

I absolutely love manti, Turkish dumplings with fillings. When I am short of time though, I make this “Cheat Manti”, Kiymali Makarna, using shell shaped conchiglie pasta, over a delicious Turkish style ragout sauce, topped with garlicky yoghurt and pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil – a lovely meal my mother used to make for us for busy weekday dinners. And it certainly delivers that satisfying manti taste – the garlicky yoghurt and pul biber oil take the dish to the next level and brings comforting manti vibes, in almost no time.

You can make your meaty ragout sauce ahead of time. I try to sneak in as much vegetables as possible in the sauce; diced carrots, peppers, mushrooms, aubergines all work well. The meat sauce is roughly based on my topping recipe for the Stuffed aubergines/eggplants, Karniyarik, from my cookery book Ozlem’s Turkish Table, which is cooked further and reduced. For a vegetarian topping, why not using my Baked Vegetables with chickpeas, Firinda Sebzeli Turlu recipe? Great way to finish leftovers too. Please take the yoghurt out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour before you ensemble the dish.

If you also like to make manti, I have two delicious recipes. This is my Traditional manti with minced/ground meat filling; here is also my Vegetarian manti recipe with crushed chickpeas and caramalised onions. They are both so delicious and satisfying and well worth your effort.

My family absolutely love this Cheat Manti, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. You can serve Shepherd salad with sumac onions as a side, if you like.

Cheat Manti, Kiymali Makarna - Pasta with Turkish ragout sauce, garlicky yoghurt and Pul biber olive oil

I absolutely love manti, Turkish dumplings with fillings. When I am short of time though, I make this “Cheat Manti”, using shell shaped conchiglie pasta, over a delicious Turkish style ragout sauce, Kiymali Makarna, topped with garlicky yoghurt and pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil – a lovely meal my mother used to make for us for busy weekday dinners. And it certainly delivers that satisfying manti taste – the garlicky yoghurt and pul biber oil take the dish to the next level and brings comforting manti vibes, in almost no time. You can make your meaty ragout sauce ahead of time. I try to sneak in as much vegetables as possible in the sauce; diced carrots, peppers, mushrooms all work well. The meat sauce is roughly based on my topping recipe for the Stuffed aubergines/eggplants, Karniyarik, from my cookery book Ozlem’s Turkish Table, which is cooked further and reduced. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Pasta

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

500g/1lb 2oz shell (conchiglie) pasta or your choice of pasta
450g/1lb minced/ground beef (or lamb)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
200g/7oz (can of) chopped tomato
15ml/1tbsp tomato paste
30ml/2tbsp olive oil
240ml/8fl oz water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the garlicky yoghurt:
400g/14oz plain yoghurt (I like to use whole milk yoghurt)
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
Salt to your taste
For the pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil:
10ml/2tsp (or more!) Turkish pul biber, red pepper flakes or chili flakes
30ml/2tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Please take the yoghurt out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour before you ensemble the dish. For the garlicky yoghurt, combine the yoghurt with chopped garlic in a medium sized bowl. Season with salt to your taste, combine well and set aside.
Pour 2tbsp olive oil on a wide heavy pan and stir in the onions and carrots. Stir and sauté for 2-3 minutes, over medium to high heat.
Stir in the ground (minced) meat, garlic and chopped peppers, combine well. Sauté for 4-5 minutes over medium to high heat, stirring continuously.
Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and 240ml water, combine well. Season with salt and ground black pepper and cook over medium heat for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will reduce at the end of this period; check the seasoning and add more salt or ground black pepper if needed. Stir in the chopped parsley and combine well, turn the heat off.
Towards the last 10 minutes of the meat sauce to get ready, pour in the hot water to a medium sized pan and stir in your pasta (I like to use shell shaped conchiglie pasta, which reminds me the manti shape). Cook your pasta, al dente, as per the cooking instructions in the package (conchiglie pasta cooks al dente in 10 minutes). Drain the water and drizzle a little olive oil over and combine, so the pasta doesn’t stick.
In a small sauté pan, drizzle 2tbsp olive oil and stir in the pul biber or red pepper flakes. Stir and gently infuse the pul biber to the olive oil, over medium to low heat, for 1 -2 minutes, turn the heat off.
You are now ready to ensemble your cheat manti feast; using a serving spoon, place the pasta on a plate. Spread the 3 – 4 tablespoonfuls of the meaty sauce over the pasta and scatter a few small dollops of garlicky yoghurt over the sauce. Drizzle pul biber infused olive oil over the garlicky yoghurt. Serve immediately.
Afiyet Olsun.

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Spaghetti with Fresh Peas, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Garlicky Prawns

By Ozlem Warren on July 2, 2013 in Pasta – Makarna, Seafood, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 16

Fresh peas are packed with flavor

We are a big fan of peas in our family and I especially love fresh peas. They are packed with flavor and their brightness and sweetness are so inviting. Peas work particularly well in “Zeytinyaglis”,”Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil” in Turkish Cuisine, like in this Baby Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil with Peas, Carrots and Almonds. Dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, they are not only very healthy but also very refreshing, a joy to eat during summer time and can be kept in fridge 2-3 days.

Artichokes in olive oil, Em tennis, almond bulgur, lokum first p 015

Artichokes poached in olive oil with peas, carrots and almonds; peas work delicious here too.

I was delighted to see some delicious recipes showcasing fresh peas by one of my favorite chefs & food writer Stevie Parle and our menu was set; Spaghetti with fresh peas, sun dried tomatoes and shrimp. Good tips from Stevie when buying fresh peas; look for pods that are silky-soft, shiny and green; the peas within will not have split yet and should be small, soft and sweet. When they are really good, you can put a bowl of them on the table and you’ll find folks munching away on them with a glass of wine or beer.

Spaghetti with fresh peas, sun dried tomatoes and shrimp

I added sun dried tomatoes that needed finishing to this recipe; their tangy and sweet flavor worked well with the peas and the garlicky shrimps. I also loved the refreshing lemon zest here and the fact that a freshly cooked delicious meal ready in less than 30 minutes.

Adapted by Stevie Parle’s brown shrimp and pea taglierini

Serves 3- 4 Preparation & Cooking time: 25- 30 minutes

200gr/7 oz. peas

30ml / 2 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes, cut in stripes

1-2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

180gr/ 6 ¼ oz. raw prawns, peeled

Zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon

250gr/ 8 ½ spaghetti

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil to serve – optional

Shell the peas and rinse well. Bring a pan of salted water to boil.

Stir in the olive oil in a small saucepan and gently fry the garlic until it just begins to color. Add the prawns and season with salt and a little pepper. Stir and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes, then take the heat off and stir in the sun dried tomatoes, lemon zest and juice.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh peas to the boiling water and cook together for a further of 3-4 minutes, until the spaghetti is just cooked. Drain, reserving a little of the pasta water. Pour the shrimp mixture into the pasta and add a dash of cooking water. Mix everything well, check the seasoning then transfer to plates. You can drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over and serve.