Pasta with Ground Beef and Shitake Mushroom in Cheese Sauce

Pasta is a favourite by many including me. I cannot turn off an offer of pasta and I’ll eat much of it because they’re so yummy. I like creating pasta dishes too. Here is one of my creations which I hope people will like. I use few of the mushrooms as fresh Shitake are has strong flavour. Any suggestions will be welcome...

Ingredients:

400 g Durum Spaghetti Pasta

250 g Ground Lean Beef

5 pcs Fresh Shitake Mushrooms (cut into strips)

1 cup Grated Cheese

½ cup White Wine

1 cup Water (for sauce)

1 tbsp. Garlic (minced)

1 pc. Medium Sized Onion (minced)

¼ tsp. Black Pepper (ground)

2 tbsp Olive Oil (extra virgin)

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

3 tbsp Cooking Oil (for cooking pasta in water)

1 tbsp Cornstarch

1 cup Water (for suspending cornstarch)

3 cups Water (for cooking pasta)

Salt (to taste)

Cooking Instructions:

In a cooking pot, place water and the cooking oil and heat to boil. When water boils, add the pasta and stir slightly to minimize sticking. Simmer until al dente or to the desired firmness. Strain and set aside. Cover the pasta so as not to have it dry and stick together.

In a suitable sauce pan, heat the olive oil, and sauté the garlic and onion until garlic browns and onion starts to caramelize. Add the beef and cook until it blanches. Add the mushroom and stir. Add the cheese and stir to distribute on the sauce. Add the white wine and water for the sauce and boil. Cover and simmer until half of the water evaporates (this will ensure beef is well cooked and flavour has blended well, be sure to stir it from time to time to ensure that the cheese does not burn on the bottom of the pan and that the cheese will be evenly distributed on the sauce). Add the Worcestershire sauce and salt to taste. Add black pepper.

In a suitable cup, place the cornstarch and add the water and mix well to suspend the cornstarch. Add to the simmering mixture and mix well to cook the starch. The sauce will thicken. Add salt to taste and toss in the pasta and mix well or alternatively place pasta on plate and pour the sauce over and serve. Enjoy.