Greek Lamb & Yoghurt Pasta Bake
photo by Sara 76
- Ready In:
- 1hr 10mins
- Ingredients:
- 17
- Yields:
-
1 10-cup Dish
- Serves:
- 4-6
ingredients
- 250 250 g penne or 250 g ziti pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 -3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 500 g ground lamb, minced lamb (for Australians)
- 1 tablespoon herbs (oregano, sage, thyme, basil, mint, according to taste preferences)
- 1⁄2 cup kalamata olive, pitted
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 (410 g) cans tomatoes, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup red wine, such as merlot (optional)
- salt, to taste
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
- rocket or baby spinach leaves, to garnish
-
Yoghurt topping
- 500 g Greek yogurt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, see alternative in the notes (above)
directions
- Cook pasta in boiling salted water until just tender, and drain.
- Heat oil in pan, sauté onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until they have softened; remove from the onion and garlic mixture from the pan.
- Add the lamb to the same pan in batches until the lamb is browned; depending on the size of the pan, you may need to brown one batch of lamb at a time.
- Add herbs, olives, zucchini and tomatoes and bring to the boil; if adding wine, allow the liquid to reduce before adding the wine.
- Add the pasta to the pan and mix well.
- Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Spoon pasta mixture into a large ovenproof, freezer-proof (if you are planning to freeze this dish) 10 cup capacity dish, or into several smaller dishes.
- Pour the topping over the mixture and sprinkle with parmesan.
- Cook in a moderate oven (180°C) for about 45 minutes or for a shorter time if you have used several smaller dishes.
- Serve with rocket or baby spinach leaves.
- To Freeze: make the recipe to the end of step 8. Cool for 15 minutes, cover with plastic wrap, label and freeze for up to 2 months.
- To Serve: Thaw the pasta in its dish in the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, place the dish on an oven tray, cover it tightly with foil and bake in a moderate oven ((180°C) for about 30 minutes. Remember, if you have used a smaller dish for a smaller quantity, it will not require as long for reheating. Serve with rocket or baby spinach leaves.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
An absolute 5-star recipe! Loved the combination of flavours. I used 10% fat ground beef and omitted the egg from the topping (to reduce calories) and this was 28 Weight Watchers points total for the whole recipe. As per the intro, I used nutmeg in the yoghurt topping and I loved the warmth this gave to the dish. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
-
We had this for dinner tonight and we loved it! We served it with nothing but baby spinach, and icy cold retsina. A true treat! I made it as written, except I used 2 eggs instead of 1, as my eggs are quite small. I used a combination of oregano, basil, thyme, and mint for the herbs (I had no sage), and I used the lemon zest in the sauce. Also, I used the wine. I'm curious to try it again with a bechemal sauce on top. Great recipe, we love anything Greek, and this did not disappoint. [Made for Please Review My Recipe, Dec 08]
-
Fabulous - I am so sorry that my photo does not do this dish any justice! I had to snap a few "before" photos before serving it to friends!! I made this exactly as posted and I would NOT change a thing. I LOVE recipes like this and this was a HUGE hit with all who ate it. The yoghurt topping was a great finishing touch and kept everything moist underneath. I also added a few breadcrumbs on top of the yoghurt topping to make it crispy and crunchy. I used penne pasta and did add the lemon zest to the topping. Made for Holiday Tag - merci bluemoon downunder! FT:-)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
July 2008 update: VERY happy to be back on Zaar after about a two year absence due to having had no internet connection at home, and having been too unwell for a time so that getting re-connected wasn't even a priority!
<br>
<br>And really looking forward to getting back into the Zaar world and connecting again with the many wonderful people I knew before, and new people, of course!