Spiced Lamb and Dill Yogurt Pasta
A luxurious pasta dish combining spiced ground lamb with a creamy dill-yogurt sauce, topped with toasted pine nuts and currants. This Mediterranean-inspired dish balances rich lamb with fresh herbs and tangy yogurt.
Ingredients
- •3 whole large egg yolks
- •2 cups kefir (cultured milk) or plain whole-milk yogurt
- •3 cups dill fronds
- •3 cloves garlic
- •3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- •½ cup pine nuts or slivered almonds
- •½ cup dried currants or raisins
- •1 tsp kosher salt
- •1 Tbsp ground cumin
- •1½ tsp black pepper
- •1 lb ground lamb
- •1 lb orecchiette
- •½ whole lemon
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Combine egg yolks, kefir, and 11/2 cups dill in a blender; finely grate in 1 garlic clove and blend until smooth. Set purée aside. Finely chop remaining 11/2 cups dill and set aside separately.
5 min
- 2.
Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add dried currants and cook, stirring often, until plump, about 1 minute. Scrape nut mixture into a small bowl; season with salt.
5 min
- 3.
Wipe out skillet and heat over medium-high. Stir together cumin, pepper, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Place lamb in pan and use a sturdy spatula to aggressively flatten (like you're making smash burgers); sprinkle spice mixture over. Cook, undisturbed, until lamb is well browned and crisp underneath, about 4 minutes. Hold back meat and drain off all of the fat. Break up meat into small pieces and mix in reserved nut mixture. Finely grate in remaining 2 garlic cloves and add reserved chopped dill. Cook, stirring, until herbs are wilted, about 1 minute. Set aside until pasta is ready.
10 min
- 4.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute shy of al dente (pasta will finish cooking in the sauce). Drain pasta and return to pot.
12 min
- 5.
Pour reserved purée over pasta and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens enough to cling to pasta and just comes to a simmer, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; finely grate zest from lemon half over pasta, then squeeze in juice. Season with salt.
5 min
- 6.
Divide pasta among bowls and top with lamb mixture.
3 min