lazy potato manti pasta with garlicky yogurt and spicy tomato butter

a stunning double carb situation inspired by a viral turkish pasta

at any given time, my list of recipes in various stages of development is, let’s just say, long. some are destined to be typed quickly into my phone—never to be seen again, many go through the initial stages of development only to be dragged into the “dead” pile, and a few triumph through it all to be published here.

about a year ago, i wrote myself a note (i use notion for all of my recipe development, writing and note taking; i love it and highly recommend it) to revisit a pasta recipe i love—the conchiglie with yogurt, peas and chili from ottolenghi and sami tamimi’s jerusalem. in my note, i also wrote “shortcut potato manti?” and left a link to this recipe from özlem’s turkish table.

fast forward to a few weeks ago and i could hardly open tiktok or instagram without seeing at least one person talking about anna paul’s viral turkish pasta. for those who haven’t seen it, it’s basically plain pasta topped with a copious amount of garlicky yogurt, spiced ground beef and paprika butter, finished with plenty of fresh parsley and chopped tomatoes.

annapaul

A post shared by @annapaul

i’m no expert on what makes a recipe go viral, but i can definitely see why this one took off, and it gave me the push i needed to go back to my notes and start developing this potato version.

the first thing i did was take another peek at the ottolenghi recipe. in the headnote they say:

Cooking or serving pasta in hot yoghurt sauce may sound slightly out of the ordinary, but the Palestinian classic shishbarak—ravioli-like dumplings stuffed with meat—is prepared in just such a manner. Turkish and Armenian manti are similar examples.

i personally only have experience with turkish manti, eaten hot or taken home frozen from the handful of places in my neighborhood that make and serve them. a few years ago, i made them at home, which felt simultaneously worth and not worth the effort given the great options i have within a stone’s throw from my apartment—maide manti and yöre gözleme ve manti evi being two of my favorite examples.

so this recipe is basically my homage to the many potato manti i’ve eaten in a shortcut, lazy kind of way, taking a little inspo from the ottolenghi version (hello pine nuts for texture!) and one big push to actually develop it from anna paul’s viral turkish pasta (which is basically a deconstructed/lazy manti, too).

this pasta comes together in about 30 minutes and is great eaten hot, but honestly could be stored and eaten cold from the fridge for a quasi-pasta salad situation. i use a small frying pan to cook the potatoes and then just wipe it out and use the same one for making the butter. you can easily double the recipe or, if you’re one of those meal prepping types of people, double the toppings and store them separately for up to 5 days so you can easily boil some pasta and have this ready in about 10 minutes.

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this time last year:

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lazy potato manti pasta with garlicky yogurt and spicy tomato butter

serves 2

for the potatoes and pasta

250 grams dried pasta (preferably mezzi rigatoni, cavatappi or conchiglie)

150 grams floury potatoes (about 4 small potatoes or 1 medium potato)

50 grams yellow onion (about 1 small onion)

10 grams fresh parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (substitute: 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin)

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for the pasta water

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

for the garlicky yogurt

150 grams full-fat, plain yogurt

1 clove garlic

pinch of salt

for the spicy tomato butter

2 tablespoons salted butter (you can also use unsalted, just add a pinch of salt)

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (substitute: ground paprika)

1 tablespoon pine nuts (optional)

1/2 tablespoon tomato paste or turkish red pepper paste (biber salcasi)

for serving

dried mint

sumac

1. dice 3-4 small or 1 medium floury potato and 1 small yellow onion into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces. finely chop 10 grams parsley. add 150 grams yogurt to a bowl. grate 1 clove of garlic directly into the yogurt and mix well to combine, then season with salt to taste and set aside.

2. heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small frying pan. once hot, add the potatoes and onion and let cook for 5 minutes without stirring. add 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and stir to combine. keep cooking, until the potatoes are cooked through and the onions are soft and translucent. transfer the mixture to a bowl and toss with most of the fresh parsley. taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired. wipe out the frying pan.

3. bring a pot of water to boil over medium-high heat. season boiling water with plenty of salt and cook 250 grams dried pasta until al dente, according to package instructions.

4. in the meantime, make the tomato butter. add 2 tablespoons salted butter to the wiped out frying pan with 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes and 1 tablespoon pine nuts over medium heat. let melt and toast, just until the butter starts to foam and take on a red color from the chili flakes. add 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste and let cook for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat, stirring well to combine.

5. drain the pasta and divide evenly between two serving plates. top each with half of the garlicky yogurt, the potato mixture and the spicy tomato butter, then finish with a sprinkle of dried mint, sumac and the remaining parsley. serve immediately.