Mākāroni (Persian Baked Pasta)

Instructions

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1. 1 In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil or ghee over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ground meat with 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon into small pieces, until meat is browned, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a plate and set aside.
2. 2 Heat remaining rendered fat and 2 tablespoons oil in pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add red pepper flakes and cumin seeds, and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, for 30 seconds.
3. 3 Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and just begin to turn golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes.
4. 4 Add garlic and turmeric, and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
5. 5 Add tomato paste and cook, stirring to combine until tomato paste has darkened to a deeper red about 2 minutes.
6. 6 Return browned ground meat to pot and add 2 cups (480 ml) water. Stir to combine and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring every 10 minutes, until mixture is thickened and flavors well developed, about 45 minutes.
7. 7 In a separate large pot or Dutch oven, bring 4 quarts water and remaining 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil over high heat.
8. 8 Cook broken bucatini pasta in the boiling water until fully tender and slightly past the al dente stage, about 10 minutes.
9. 9 Drain the pasta well. Transfer drained pasta to a large bowl. Add prepared tomato sauce and toss to combine thoroughly.
10. 10 Return pot to the stovetop. (See note) Add remaining 4 tablespoons oil to Dutch oven. Pour sauced pasta into pot. Wrap the lid of pot in a clean, thick kitchen towel. Cover pot tightly with the towel-wrapped lid. This helps prevent steam from escaping and keeps condensation from dripping onto pasta. Set Dutch oven over medium-low heat and cook, rotating pot for even heating every 5 to 10 minutes, until pasta develops a dark golden crust on the bottom, for 45 minutes (or longer if you prefer your pasta tahdig darker with a higher degree of singeing.
11. 11 Fill your sink with 1-inch cold water. Without taking the lid off the pot, set the pot immediately in the water-filled sink (alternatively, set the pot on top of a thoroughly wet kitchen towel); this will help in getting the tahdig out. Let sit 4 minutes. Move pot to your kitchen counter and carefully remove the lid (avoid any hot steam that might come out and also make sure not to let any condensed water drip down onto the pasta).
12. 12 If using a nonstick pot, invert a round serving platter (slightly wider than the diameter of the pot) over the pot. Firmly grasp both the platter and the pot and carefully but quickly flip them over together. Lift off the pot. The tahdig should be beautifully displayed atop a cake-like mound of pasta. If using a standard pot, the tahdig may not release easily. Run a thin, flexible silicone spatula around the edges of the tahdig to loosen it from the bottom and sides of the pot. Repeat this a few times, gently working the spatula a bit further underneath each time. If the tahdig releases completely, use the same flipping technique as with a nonstick pot. If not, gently spoon the pasta onto a serving platter. Then, using a spoon or flat spatula, carefully scrape the tahdig up, trying to keep it in as large pieces as possible, and arrange them around the pasta.