Lebanese Pasta Sauce is a Tomato based Sauced seasoned with Baharat/Bharat Seasoning or Seven Spice for a Lebanese take on Spaghetti or any other type of Pasta. It’s a Lebanese Style Pasta and Sauce.
A really special Pasta Sauce that just has to be had once in a while. It’s like the Classic Italian Pasta Sauce but uniquely Lebanese Flavored. I serve this up with Garlic Bread, Twisty Bread or Garlic Fingers.
Pasta
For this recipe, we are making a classic Spaghetti with a Pasta Sauce that is Lebanese Seasoned. Use 100 g of Dried Spaghetti per serving. Place a tall glass on the digital scale and weigh out how much you need.
This dish can also be made with a Pasta Bake, using Short Pasta and Sauce with Meat and other ingredients portioned into single serving Au Gratin Dishes or Casserole Dish. With or without Cheese.
Lebanese Pasta Sauce Base
The Base Sauce is Tomato Paste, Crushed Tomatoes and Tomato Juice or Sauce. Salt & Sugar with Black Pepper to taste and a good amount of fat. Preferably animal fat.
The Black Pepper added should be at least noticeable or more for a slight Spicy Pasta Sauce.
Lebanese Pasta Sauce with Passata
This one was made with a bottle of Passata & 2 Cups of Water in place of the Crushed Tomatoes & Tomato Juice. I also doubled the Tomato Paste to account for consistency. To this about 1 Tbl of Seven Spice was added with everything else being the same. Although you could drop the sugar a bit if desired as this was on the sweet side. It made for another amazing lebanese Spaghetti.
Meat
Ground Lamb is preferable. This can be substituted with Ground Beef. For Spaghetti, nothing beats a mix of three different meats. I often use Ground Beef, Steak, and Sausage for and Italian version of Spaghetti. For a Lebanese style, I omit the Sausage. Although, a Lebanese Style Sausage can be used, such as Makanek. I use a Pork Chop in place of.
The mix of meats offers superior texture contrast that is wonderful in dishes like Spaghetti. The Lebanese Spaghetti Sauce can be made with just ground meats, using ground Lamb and/or ground Beef.
Ground Lamb
Use 1/2 lb to 1 lb (ca. 454 g) of ground Lamb.
Ground Beef
Ground Beef can be used in place of Lamb at the same amounts. 1/2 lb is good, or 1 lb (ca. 454 g) for a meatier sauce.
FAT
I typically use Ground Beef instead of Ground Lamb. But I do use Lamb Fat for the Flavoring. If you don’t have this. Then Beef Suet, Pork Fat, Chicken Fat or even Olive Oil can be used. Although rendered animal fat will offer up more flavor.
I use about 100 g of Lamb Fat or more, which really makes this sauce fantastic. Render the fat out until the bits are crisp and set this aside to chop up fine to include in the Pasta Sauce.
Lamb Fat
Render the fat in a pan over medium low to medium heat until crisp.
Beef Suet
Melt the Beef Suet in a pan over medium heat.
Vegetarian Lebanese Pasta Sauce
For a Vegetarian take on this. Omit the Meat and substitute the Fat with Olive Oil.
My preference for doing a vegetarian version is to skip the Crushed Tomatoes and Juice. Instead, peel and seed the whole Tomatoes (Garden Tomatoes) and combine it with the coarsely chopped vegetables into a Casserole dish tossed with Olive Oil and the remaining ingredients, except the tomato paste. Cook for about 1 hour or more for good caramelization, and then run everything through a food mill or blender. Empty the contents into a sauce pot and add in the Tomato Paste. Cook until desired consistency.
This version has a fantastic fresh and caramelized taste to the Sauce.
Vegetables
You can add in any vegetables you want. For Spaghetti the common vegetables are Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Celery, and Peppers.
Peppers
Long Sweet Red Peppers or Bell Peppers are a very nice addition.
Lebanese Pasta Sauce Seasoning
The main seasoning is Lebanese Style Baharat or more specifically Seven Spice. This spice blend is used quite often to season a wide variety of dishes. It is typically made up of the below Ingredients. In ratios that are different from source to source. Some have additional ingredients such Fennel Seeds, Bay Leaves etc…
- Black Pepper
- Cardamon or Allspice
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Nutmeg
- Paprika
Lebanese Seven Spice
I have my own blend of Seven Spice and since this seasoning does vary in ratios of the spices. It is recommended to add a bit. Then taste and adjust, or else it could throw the whole dish off. If unsure, reserve the seasoning for the end where you can add it to the Sauce let cook for a bit and then taste it to see if more can be added.
The other Seasonings that go in are lots of Parsley and some Thyme.
Seven Spice Blend
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Clove
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Lebanese Spaghetti
Boil the Spaghetti in salted water on the back burner, while the meat sauce is just finishing up. I use 16 Cups of water with 2 Tbl of Sea Salt. Once the pasta is done, pick it up with tongs or strain and transfer to a large bowl to immediately toss with some meat sauce. Just enough to coat it. Plate the Spaghetti and ladle hot Lebanese Pasta sauce on top to serve right away. Optionally garnish with more Parsley & Aleppo.
Equipment
- 1 Sauce Pot
Ingredients
Meat
- 1/2 lbs Ground Lamb or Beef
- 1 Beef Steak
- 1 Pork Chop - or 2-4 Lebanese Sausage like Makanek
- 100 g Lamb Fat - or more, chopped into small bits
Pasta Sauce
- 4 C Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 C Tomato Juice - or more for Consistency
- 1/4 C Tomato Paste
- 2 Tbl Sugar & Parsley
- 1 Tbl Salt
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- Seven Spice - to taste (anywhere from 2 tsp — 2 Tbl), see notes
- Black Pepper - to Taste, it should have a nice heat
Vegetables
- 5 Cloves Garlic - Chopped
- 2-4 Stalks Green Onions - Chopped
- 1 Onion - Diced
- 1 Celery - Diced
- 1 Carrot - Shredded
- 1/2 Red Pepper - Diced
- 1/2 Green Pepper - Diced
Instructions
- Start by prepping all the Vegetables and set aside.
- Over medium heat in a Large Wok or Sauce Pot, Render the Lamb Fat. Once the Lamb is crisp, remove from the pan and set aside. When the Lamb Crackling is cooled, chop very finely and add back into the Sauce at the end.
- Cook the Beef Steak and Pork Chop or Sausages and set aside. To mince and add back into the sauce.
- Cook the ground Lamb or Beef until half way done. Add in all Vegetables and cook until the Ground Meat is done. Add in Tomato Paste and mix well. Cook for a few minutes, then add in remaining ingredients.
- Simmer for about 1 hour. Add Seven Spice to taste, adjust the seasoning if needed, and serve with Pasta.