Tomato relish adds Indian flair to this Turkish-inspired meal.

A few weeks ago, me and my husband went into NYC to see Bob’s Burgers Live (and it was ah-mazing!!). We needed to grab some dinner beforehand, and we ended up at a Turkish restaurant near the Beacon Theatre.

For my main course, I had Manti – little dumplings with lamb and a delicious, garlicky yogurt sauce.

This meal was inspired by things I had hanging out in my pantry and that delicious Turkish dinner. In lieu of homemade dumplings, I used store bought gnocchi.

When I was thinking of how to flavor the lamb, I remembered some Tomato Achaar that I had picked up from a local food blogger that I met last year. It added a really rich flavor to the dish, and it was great paired with the garlicky yogurt sauce.

This meal was delicious, and the toppings were exceptionally tasty leftover, stuffed into pita bread. Even better than over the gnocchi! I love finding creative ways to use leftovers and odds & ends around the kitchen. Major success!

Tomato Achaar Spiced Lamb Over Gnocchi with Garlicky Mint Yogurt Sauce

Description

Tomato relish adds Indian flair to this Turkish-inspired meal.

Scale

Ingredients

For lamb:

1 pound ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Tomato Achaar
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock

For sauce:

4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt, at room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons mint, chopped

To serve:

1 (17.6-ounce) package gnocchi
Sumac
Cucumber slices (optional)
Lemon wedges (optional)
Mint sprigs (optional)

Instructions

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, breaking the meat apart with a spoon, until brown all over. Drain excess fat, if needed.
Add onion and achaar and continue to cook until onions start to soften. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has cooked out.
While the lamb is cooking, using a mortar and pestle, grind together the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt until it turns into a thick paste. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can smash the garlic and salt together on a cutting board with the side of your knife several times, until it forms a paste. Combine the garlic paste, yogurt, lemon juice and mint in a bowl (or in your mortar, if it’s large enough). Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
To serve, divide gnocchi between bowls. Top with spiced lamb mixture and a few spoons of yogurt sauce. Sprinkle a little sumac over the top of everything, and garnish with cucumber, lemon and mint, if desired.