A simple recipe for spaghetti with an oriental taste
Jerusalem-born Reem Kassis celebrates the flavors and techniques of traditional Middle Eastern cuisine with the release of her book Arabesque, published by Phaidon Verlag. There are 130 delicious and easy recipes to discover, such as Spaghetti with Garlic Yogurt.
A simple recipe for spaghetti with garlic yogurt and pine nuts
Reem Kassis: Boiled yogurt is an indispensable ingredient in Arabic cuisine. It is used as a braising sauce for everything from cauliflower and meat to kibbeh, shishbarak and rice. Some people also like to eat it in soup. Yoghurt, traditionally made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, has a clean, sharp taste and is richly salted. However, it must be constantly stirred during cooking so that it does not become gelatinous; if you use cow’s milk yogurt, it may be necessary to mix it with a little starch. Although this recipe is inspired by some of these traditional dishes, it includes raw yogurt flavored with roasted garlic; the taste is similar to the cooked version, but milder and easier to digest. Variations on this pasta dish, a “lazy” version of the more elaborate dishes mentioned above, can be found throughout the Middle East.
ingredients for 4 people
- Coarse salt for pasta cooking water
- 450 g spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine
- 450 g yogurt (without Greek yogurt)
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 35 g of pine nuts
- 3 cloves of garlic, pressed through a garlic press
- Crushed dried mint for garnish
A simple recipe for spaghetti with pine nuts and garlic yogurt: preparation
Fill a large saucepan with 4 liters of water and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a bowl large enough to hold the cooked pasta, whisk the yogurt with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt until smooth. Add olive oil to a very small pan and heat over medium-high heat. Toast the pine nuts, stirring constantly, until very lightly browned. Spoon them onto a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
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