Silk road-style lamb & cumin pasta

I know this sounds like a weird combination to be thrown over pasta and I know it may seem like it’s cumin-heavy (which it is), but it really works, and I have won over quite a few sceptics with this recipe, mostly because it’s actually, and perhaps for some surprisingly, very delicious and satisfying. Try it – it’s one of my favourite recipes in this book and I knew instantly that I had to share it with you.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Place the lamb steaks between 2 layers of clingfilm and bash the meat with a meat tenderizer or the flat side of a rolling pin to flatten and tenderize the meat. Discard the clingfilm and thinly slice the lamb into strips about 5mm thick. Place the lamb strips in a non-reactive bowl, add the garlic granules, spices, oils, soy sauce, vinegar and a generous amount of salt and pepper and mix together well. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to marinate at room temperature for at least
   1 hour.
2. Cook the tagliatelle in a large saucepan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions, then drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water.
3. Meanwhile, heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, add the lamb along with the marinade and cook for a few minutes until seared all over, but avoid stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat to ensure the meat stays slightly rare and tender. Add the butter and check and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or soy sauce to taste. Add the cooked pasta together with 2-3 ladles of the reserved pasta water and mix well with tongs, adding more of the cooking water to the pasta to loosen, if liked. Serve immediately, no accompaniment needed.

Simply