- LK Bonabi
Spaghetti Bolognese Persian Style
Updated: Aug 16, 2020

There's always a recipe that can be made your own and this one has certainly been given the full Persian treatment!
The love of food and adding your own special flavours to a dish have made this a favourite, not only because we love pasta, but also because when you cook this particular spaghetti dish, you'll get all the crispiness and similarity to the well known and loved Tahdig (crispy rice base). See I told you, it's Persian style ;)
Ingredients
1 onion
1/3 cup oil
500g minced lamb
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dry tarragon
2 tbsp tomato puree
4 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground saffron
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp dry leek
5 bunches of spaghetti (keep the length)
7 cups of water
Method
Step 1
Add the oil to a large pot
Finely chop the onions
Fry in the oil until golden brown
Add the minced lamb and fry on high heat for 5 minutes
Step 2
Add the black pepper, salt and paprika
Stir until all the dry ingredients have mixed well into the minced meat
Lower the heat to medium
Add the tomato puree and stir into the minced meat
Add the dry tarragon and leek and give a final mix
Step 3
Add the water
Add the crushed garlic, saffron and bay leaves
Give a good stir and cover the top of the pot
Allow to boil over a medium heat for 15 minutes
Step 4
Add the spaghetti making sure you keep the length
Allow the spaghetti to soften a bit before you cover the top of the pot
After 30 minutes lower the heat and check if the pasta has cooked, it should be well over al dente
Remove from the heat and take out the bay leaves
Step 5
Oil a round baking tin, 20" by 20"
Add the spaghetti to the tin, try not to add the Bolognese sauce to it
Place in the oven at Gas Mark 5 or 200°C for 30 to 45 minutes, checking every 20 minutes to ensure you reach the crispiness you like
Remove from the oven and turn over to show-off the crispy base
Note: Don't worry if you have extra spaghetti, I used my cupcake tray to make crispy spaghetti cupcakes! :)
Step 6
If the Bolognese sauce is runny, return to the heat and reduce
Enjoy this wonderfully crispy spaghetti with the Bolognese sauce on the side or poured over it. Noosh-e-Jaan :)