High Protein Turkish Pasta (Deconstructed Manti)

18th May 2025

A simple twist on the traditional Turkish manti dish. It's quick and easy to make, refreshing, and full of protein and healthy fats—perfect for meal prep you’ll never get tired of! Delicious hot or cold, it’s a great option for busy weekdays.

Dinner

Benefits

  • Naturally high in protein and healthy fats

  • Homemade and unprocessed

  • Quick and easy to make, perfect for meal prep

Time - approx. 30-45 Mins Serves - 2

Ingredients

High Protein Turkish Pasta

Serves 2

Pasta + Mince

  • 150g Orecchiette Pasta, Salt + Water for boiling

  • 1 Tbsp EV Olive Oil

  • 1/2 White Onion, Sliced

  • 2 Cloves Garlic, Sliced

  • A Handful of Tomatoes

  • 200g Lean (Low Fat) Lamb/Beef Mince

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Turkish Red Pepper Paste *

  • 1 Tsp Turkish Pepper Flakes *

  • 1 Tsp Chilli Powder

  • 1 Tsp Paprika

  • 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

  • 2 Tsp Dried Mint

  • A Handful of Fresh Parsley, chopped

  • Sea Salt + Ground Black Pepper to taste

* You can find this in any Turkish Supermarket

Cottage Cheese Sauce

  • 160g Full Fat Cottage Cheese / 5% Faye Yoghurt

  • 2 Cloves Garlic, Grated

  • 2 Tbsp Water

  • Sea Salt + Ground Black Pepper to taste

  • 2 Tbsp Water

Serve With

  • Turkish Flatbread*, pan fried in butter and dried mint

  • Baby Cucumber, sliced

  • Fresh Sliced Lemon

Butter Sauce

  • 2 Tbsp Butter

  • A Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

  • A Pinch of Paprika

  • A Pinch of Turkish Pepper Flakes

Instructions

Pasta + Mince

  1. Bring 150g Orecchiette pasta to a boil with water + salt.

  2. In a large pan, heat up 1 Tbsp EV olive oil, then cook down 1/2 white onion for a few minutes on medium-low heat.

  3. Add in 2 cloves of sliced garlic and a handful of tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes have softened.

  4. Add in 200g Lean Lamb/Beef mince and cook till there are no traces of pink left.

  5. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp Turkish red pepper paste, 1 Tsp Turkish pepper flakes, 1 Tsp chilli powder, 1 Tsp paprika, 1 Tsp cayenne pepper + 2 Tsp dried mint. Cook on medium-low heat till the mince has browned - stir often to avoid burning. Salt + Pepper to taste.

  6. When you’re ready, drain and run your cooked pasta under cold water.

Cottage Cheese Sauce

  1. Combine or blend together* 160g full fat cottage cheese*, 2 cloves of grated garlic, 2 Tbsp water and salt + ground pepper to taste.

* Blend if you don’t like the chunks of cottage cheese.

* The cottage cheese taste is hardly noticeable! Replace with 5% Faye yoghurt if you prefer.

Serve With

  1. Cut up some Turkish flatbread and pan fry in some butter and dried mint.

  2. Slice baby cucumber and lemon for serving (optional but very refreshing)!

Butter Sauce

  1. On VERY LOW HEAT, melt together 2 Tbsp butter, a pinch of cayenne pepper, paprika and Turkish pepper flakes. Stir continuously as this can burn very quickly! Remove from the heat once fully melted and combined.

Plate up by layering the pasta, cottage cheese sauce, mince mix, butter sauce and fresh parsley. Serve with your toasted Turkish flatbread, baby cucumber and lemon and enjoy!