Cooking with Ayeh shares her divisive Persian spaghetti recipe

2023-07-03

Cook’s ‘life-changing’ pasta recipe has thousands drooling – but Italians won’t be happy

Ayeh Manfre makes Persian Spaghetti
She outraged fans by breaking the past in half

A cook has left fans drooling with her ‘Persian pasta’ recipe – but her methods have angered some traditional foodies.

Ayeh Manfre whipped up Makaroni, which is a Persian spaghetti recipe with a bolognese-style sauce that is cooked to create a crunchy bottom called ‘tahdig’.

The food blogger, who has just spent a year in Italy, said the dish ‘breaks all the Italian rules’, angering many in the comments who were shocked she snapped her spaghetti in half before cooking it.

‘What’s better than Italian pasta?? Persian Spaghetti!! We call it Makaroni and yes it breaks all the Italian rules, but it’s so so good!!’ Ayeh said in an online clip.

‘Sorry to all my Italian friends’ she wrote before breaking a bunch of spaghetti in half and putting in a pot of boiling water to cook.

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Food blogger Ayeh Manfre has shared her delicious Persian pasta recipe but angered fans after she broke the spaghetti in half. She said it ‘breaks all the Italian rules’

‘What’s better than Italian pasta?? Persian Spaghetti!! We call it Makaroni and yes it breaks all the Italian rules, but it’s so so good!!’ Ayeh said in an online clip

The foodie, from Sydney, makes a bolognese sauce with mushroom, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, lentils, herbs and spices and tomato.

After draining the pasta, Ayeh coats the bottom of the pot in a generous amount of olive oil in the bottom of the pot and a pinch of saffron powder.

She adds a third of the pasta to the bottom on the pot then layers it with the sauce until there is no spaghetti left.

Ayeh covers the pot lid with a clean tea towel and allows the pasta to cook on a low heat for 45 minutes.

For the last five minutes she increases the heat to create a crunchy layer of pasta at the bottom.

Once everything is cooked, she places a large plate on top of the pot and flips it upside down so the pasta comes out in a cake-like shape.

Ayeh makes a bolognese sauce with mushroom, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, lentils, herbs and spices and tomato then layer the sauce in the pot with the spaghetti

Once everything is cooked, she places a large plate on top of the pot and flips it upside down so the pasta comes out in a cake-like shape

When serving Ayeh said to make sure to cut up the Tahdig or crispy base evenly so everyone gets a piece.

‘Even my Italian husband loves it. Especially the crunchy Tahdig on the top which is the best part,’ she said.

‘It’s usually made with a meat sauce but here I’ve made it with a vegan bolognese.’

Many viewers shared their outrage Ayeh had broken the pasta before cooking it up.

‘I’m not Italian but I never understand why people break the pasta,’ one woman said.

‘On behalf of all Italian people: no,’ joked another while a third said: ‘Uh. I felt that spaghetti crack in my heart’.

When serving Ayeh said to make sure to cut up the Tahdig or crispy base evenly so everyone gets a piece

‘You just insulted me. But at the same time it’s okay because that looks sooooo good,’ someone else said.

Others agreed the dish was ‘genius’, looked mouth-watering and loved the crispy pasta top.

‘Would I eat it? Absolutely not. I’d devour it,’ one viewer replied.

‘That looks absolutely amazing!’ exclaimed a second while another said: ‘The crunchy bottom!!! Ahh yum.’

‘Italians actually have a similar dish to this called frittata di spaghetti – try it!!’ someone pointed out.

RECIPE: How to make Makaroni or Persian Spaghetti

Ingredients

360 g spaghetti pasta
350 g mushrooms – I’ve used a mix of portobello and Swiss brown mushrooms
2 small carrots
2 celery sticks
1 white onion
4 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ cup tomato paste
½ cup passata
2 cups water
½ cup lentils
½ teaspoon advieh (Persian spice) or ¼ teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg
½ teaspoon tsp dried oregano
3-4 tablespoon Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bolognese sauce:

Pasta

Layer ingredients and cook

Source: Cooking with Ayeh

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