Ingredients
The following ingredients have 6 Servings
- 235 grams dry elbow macaroni (reserve the pasta water)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 500 grams lean lamb mince
- 1 lamb stock pot
- 2 tsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp whole cumin seeds (toasted and ground)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves
- 50 grams butter
- 50 grams plain flour
- 135 grams plain natural yoghurt
- 125 ml full fat milk
- 80 grams Kefalotyri cheese (or Parmesan)
- Shetland sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instruction
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 375 F.
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the macaroni according to the package instructions, until al dente. About 8 minutes. Reserve 300 ml of the pasta cooking water to make your stock with.
- Drain the pasta in a colander and pour over plenty of cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saute pan.
- Gently saute the onion and garlic for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add the lamb mince, season well with salt and pepper, and cook until browned all over.
- Mix the lamb stock cube with the pasta water to make a lamb stock, and pour into the lamb mixture along with the ground spices, tomato puree and chopped mint.
- Simmer, gently, for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture is thick.
- Heat the butter in a small saucepan until melted and beginning to bubble. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk and yogurt.
- Return to the heat and cook gently for a further five minutes. Remove from the heat again and stir in half of the grated cheese.
- Mix the cooked macaroni with the cheese sauce and spoon half of the mixture into the bottom of a medium-sized pie dish.
- Spoon over the spiced lamb mince and top with the remaining macaroni. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly.
- Serve with a side salad!
