Mantı Makarna
Mantı Makarna·(mahn-TIH mah-KAH-nah)
Esnaf Lokantası at Home (The Tradesmen’s Lunch)
Authentic Kayseri mantı takes a weekend and an army of grandmothers. This is the immigrant mother’s brilliant hack. By stuffing readily available dry pasta shells with a heavily spiced meat mixture, you get all the tactile care, the textural chew, the cooling garlic yogurt, and the blooming warmth of red pepper butter on a Tuesday night. The real secret? An egg white in the meat mixture—a quiet trick passed down through generations to ensure the filling actually stays inside the shell when it hits the boiling water. No performative nonsense, just exactly what home tastes like.
Before you start
Prepare the garlic yogurt.
Whisk the room-temperature yogurt with half of the crushed garlic and a pinch of salt. Do not skip bringing the yogurt to room temperature; cold dairy over hot pasta kills the comfort of the dish and can cause it to seize.
Knead the meat filling.
Combine the ground beef, grated onion and its juices, remaining garlic, parsley, egg white, a generous pinch of salt, and the black pepper. Knead intimately with your hands until the proteins develop and the mixture feels sticky.
Ingredients
- medium pasta shells1 lb
- 80/20 ground beef1/2 lb
- yellow onion1 med
- egg white1 large
- fresh flat-leaf parsley1/4 cup
- whole milk Greek yogurt2 cup
- garlic4 small clove
- unsalted butter4 tbsp
- Aleppo pepper1 tbsp
- dried mint1 tbsp
- olive oil1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- black pepper1 tsp
Method
- 01
Stuff the dry pasta shells.
Using your thumb or a small spoon, press a tiny amount of the raw meat mixture into the cavity of each uncooked pasta shell. This is a communal activity; draft the kids or your partner to help make it go fast.
- 02
Boil the pasta.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, seasoning it heavily with salt and a splash of olive oil. Drop in the stuffed shells and boil for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the meat is cooked through. The egg white will keep the meat locked in place. Drain carefully, but never rinse the pasta.
- 03
Bloom the spiced butter.
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until foaming. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the Aleppo pepper and dried mint, letting the residual heat extract the bright red oils without burning the spices.
- 04
Assemble the plates.
Lay down a hot bed of the stuffed pasta, blanket it generously with the garlic yogurt, and crown with a drizzle of the sizzling red pepper butter.
Notes
No time to stuff? Make Yalancı Mantı (Deconstructed Turkish Pasta).
Boil the shells plain. Meanwhile, brown the grated onion, garlic, and ground beef in a skillet. Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste and a splash of pasta water to create a quick, loose ragout. Plate the plain pasta, smother in garlic yogurt, spoon the beef ragout over the top, and finish with the sizzling red pepper butter.
Spice Substitutions.
If you cannot find Aleppo pepper (pul biber) at a local Middle Eastern market, substitute a mixture of 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to mimic its mild, fruity heat and vibrant color.
From Cook Turkish in America.