Syrian Lamb with Feta and Yoghurt

My brother says I make this too oily, but would it taste as Syrian if it was less so? I don't know. This is really unusual and anyone you make it for will assume you picked the recipe up while you were there. If challenged, just smile enigmatically.

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 large chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
3 tsp smoked paprika
1 ½ tsp turmeric
500g minced lamb
1 largeish glass dry white wine
250g Rigatoni pasta
100g plain yoghurt – preferably not the set kind like Greek

150g Feta cheese

Add the mustard seeds to a frying pan with a little oil, until they pop. They will start jumping out of the pan. Add the onion and crushed garlic, which for some reason stops the seeds popping. When the onion is soft add in the turmeric and paprika and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring so the spices get into all the onion. I think it goes quite a cool colour. Add the lamb and brown it. If you’re my brother, attempt to drain off excess oil without losing the lamb or onion. Not so easy huh?

Add the white wine and bubble away for around 10 more minutes. The wine should be evaporated by now. It’s job is done.

Cook  the Rigatoni – I think it would look odd using any other shape of pasta, and there’s something satisfyingly large about Rigatoni - but if needs must. Just make sure you don’t have any Syrians coming for dinner. When al dente rinse under cold water quickly to wash away  excess starch.

 Assembly time. Put the pasta in a serving bowl and toss the yoghurt through. Crumble in the Feta. All the pasta should be nice and yoghurty. (Yoghurty – what a great new word!) Add the lamb and give it another quick toss. Season and serve straight away. Even though it’s lamb I think you could get away with drinking the rest of the white wine with this. 

Grumble that it’s slightly too oily.