Ashak style pasta is an inspired version of actual ashak without the extra steps.  What is ashak?! Ashak is an Afghani dish made from leek perogies, tossed with yogurt, topped with a ground beef sauce (called qeema) and finished off with more yogurt and dry mint. This recipe is elaborate and has layers of flavor and texture; it’s definitely worth trying. At my home, my son is the one who especially loves this dish. Anytime you ask him “What do you want for lunch or dinner?”, his answer will always be “ashak style pasta”.

For this dish you can choose from a variety of pre-made pasta: shells, penne, rigatoni, or fusilli.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of lean ground beef (To get a nice crumbly and clump free sauce check “Useful Tips”)
• 1 box of pasta, your choice of style
• 2 cups of yogurt or 1 1/2 cups of sour cream (or 1 cup each, I love to mix half/half)
• 1 small onion (chopped finely)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seed powder
• ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (Check “Useful Tips” on how to preserve leftover tomato paste)
• 2 cups of water
• 2 leeks, well washed & finely chopped (Use the entire stalk of leek.  Usually the white part is sweeter and softer and the green part has more stronger taste and tougher.  Combing both the green and white will give you a very nice and balanced taste. If it is your first time using leeks check “Useful Tips” for how to wash and cut leeks)
• 3-4 tablespoons of oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Making the sauce:

In a pot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and chopped onions. Sauté until light brown. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute, then add the ground beef. Mix well until the meat is in an even layer and there are no big clumps. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper and mix to incorporate. Add tomato paste and stir for another 2-4 minutes. Add two cups of water and let it come to a boil. Then let it simmer on low-medium heat for 30-40 minutes until the water is reduced and you are left with a thick sauce. Turn off the heat and put the pot aside.

Preparing the leeks:

In a big pan with a lid, add 1 tablespoon of oil with the chopped leeks. Cover with the lid and let it cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat. The leeks will dispense some water while cooking. Occasionally stir and make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. You know it is cooked when they turn light green, are soft, and release a nice aroma. If this is your first time eating leeks, keep in mind that leeks are extremely high in fiber. Once it is cooked, turn off the heat and put it aside.

Cooking the pasta:

Boil water for the pasta in a big pot with some salt. Add pasta and cook it according to the packaging.

Preparing the yogurt topping:

While the pasta is boiling, put the yogurt (or sour cream or half/half combo) in a bowl, add some salt, and stir with a fork to get a smooth consistency. If you use only sour cream or use the yogurt/sour cream combo, add 2-4 tablespoons of water. Sour cream is usually a lot thicker than yogurt and water will help the mixture become smoother.

Putting it all together:

Choose a big dish to serve the pasta. Add 5-6 tablespoons of the yogurt mixture on the bottom of the dish and spread it around. Add pasta and make sure it’s fully coated with the yogurt. Add more yogurt if needed. Layer the pasta with the beef sauce. Add more yogurt if needed.  Top it off with leeks and garnish more yogurt and dry mint. Dry mint is a widely used herb that we Afghans use. It adds an extra flavour and a really pleasant aroma to the dish. Don’t worry if you don’t have dry mint because it is really easy to dry out mint yourself. To find out how to dry mint click here for tips!

For extra flavour, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a small pan, let it heat up on high heat. Be very careful while handling the oil. Once the oil is hot, add turmeric powder.  It will sizzle. Take the pan off the heat and drizzle the hot oil/turmeric mixture over the pasta.

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