Inspired by Xi’an Famous Foods’ popular cumin lamb noodles, this weeknight pasta is all about creating deep flavor in as little time as possible. As in the classic Northern Chinese dish, we deploy a similarly heavy hand of cumin, but complement it here with frizzled shallots and caramelized tomato paste for an added touch of sweetness. To make things extra fast, we use ground lamb and store-bought pappardelle, but any wide, long, flat pasta or other noodle will cling well to the spiced oil and saucy meat. If you like, top the whole thing with a little extra fresh mint to balance out the richness of the dish.
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What you’ll need
Mortar and Pestle
$24 At Amazon
Large Straight-Sided Skillet
$200 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Heatproof Measuring Cup
$18 At Amazon
Colander
$11 At Amazon
Ingredients
4–6 servings
2
½
3
2
1
1
1
1
½
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Preparation
Step 1
Coarsely grind 2 Tbsp. cumin seeds in mortar and pestle or spice mill. Set aside.
Step 2
Heat ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high. Add 3 large shallots, thinly sliced, and season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened and beginning to brown around the edges, 6–9 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste and stir to coat shallots. Cook, stirring often, until paste is darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika, 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, and reserved cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 lb. ground lamb and break up into small pieces with a wooden spoon; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lamb is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
Step 3
Cook 1 lb. pappardelle or other wide noodle in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot off heat.
Step 4
Increase heat under lamb to medium and add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid; stir to combine. Add half of lamb and ½ cup coarsely chopped mint to pasta; cook over medium-low heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed to loosen, until sauce coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 5
Divide pasta among bowls; top with remaining lamb in skillet, then with more mint.
Leave a Review
Reviews (28)
Back to TopHad high hopes for this recipe but found it to be pretty one-note (CUMIN!). Xi'an Famous Foods ships noodle kits so I'll stick with the *real* spicy cumin lamb noodles in the future.
Kristin
Albany, NY
12/14/2022
Can't wait to give this recipe a whirl. I'd probably cut down on the pasta and olive oil quantities and go for chili crisp or a fresh sliced chili for heat instead of the chili flakes, but this sounds great.
babybokchoy
Montreal, QC
11/1/2022
Over the top! Even better the next day. I did not change a thing-the heavily seasoned olive oil is part of the sauce-the "slicked." Plan to put this one one repeat!!
Gutsybluequeen
midwest
10/31/2022
I loved this recipe. I did use ground cumin and decreased the amount a bit. Next time I would decrease the amount of pasta. Maybe 3/4 pound. Otherwise I not change at all. Definitely will make this again.
MarieH
Pittsburgh
10/31/2022
Could you use chicken or beef in this recipe?
Anonymous
COLORADO
10/30/2022
ADD 1/2 of lamb to noodels. Do what with the resrt???
Anonymous
10/28/2022
Easy and great dish for a quick weekday meal! Kids loved it! I added some diced jalapeños for a little extra kick.
Rueben
Mesa, AZ
10/17/2022
made this tonight and the flavor was spot on! loved everything about it except that my sauce was a little light on color so it didnt have the pop of deep red i was hoping for. i did brown it i swear. will either add more tomato paste next time or adjust the amount of pasta water used. also good with a dollop of greek yogurt on top mixed in at the end.
JaredMykel
Sacramento, CA
10/14/2022
Flavor is great but came out quite greasy. Could probably cut the olive oil in half.
Anonymous
Durham, NC
10/14/2022
Punkingee…read the last paragraph of the recipe for directions
Crmcr
Columbus OH
10/11/2022
We are lamb, spice, and pasta people so I can't wait to fix this!
KnownforGreek !
10/10/2022
@punkingee you distribute the remaining lamb in the bowls before serving.
Anonymous
10/9/2022
It's not clear why the recipe uses only ½ the lamb, or am I missing something?
punkingee
california
10/9/2022
Could I use ground cumin from a bottle? If so, how much?
Nic Nosh
SC
10/9/2022
Try Urfa in stead of chilli flakes
johnny
ontario
10/7/2022