Now, for mine. I generaly only cook for myself, and at most one other, so this recipie is fairly small... it serves two just fine, 3 if you stretch it a bit. Any more than three, though, and you will want to double it.
I set out to create this as a way to work some Japanese flavor into a pasta dish, without turning it into Ramen or something. This was the result. Been well recieved with everyone I've served it to thus far. It's very clearly a spagetti sauce, but it's got just a hint of something different.
1/2 pound ground beef or venison
3/4 cup onion, chopped
4 medium sized s-h-i-t-a-k-e mushrooms, or about 2/3 of a cup, chopped
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 16oz can of stewed/crushed tomatos
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon sage
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon oregeno
2 teaspoons salt + a bit
5 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons sake (Rice wine. Not mirin, which is the cooking equivilant, but real sake)
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Olive oil
1-2 strip bacon, depending on fat content
Fresh or dry pasta of your choice
Water
1/2 tablespoon pure lemon juice*
1) Place a medium sized frying pan on medium heat. Cook the bacon untill enough bacon grease is in the pan to cook with. Remove the bacon, and eat (if you like) or give to the pet (if you like). You can also break it up and add it to the sauce if you like, but it's not needed.
2) Place the ground meat in the pan, and use a spatual to break it up into whatever size bits of meat you care for. As soon as you're done breaking the meat up, add in the s-h-i-t-a-k-e mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Let that saute until the meat just starts to brown. Add 1 teaspoon sage, 3 teaspoons each of sake and soy sauce, a dash of salt, and let saute further. Stir a bit as needed to prevent burning.
3) Place a medium sized pot on the stove, on the low-end of medium heat. Add tomato paste and tomatos, a dash of salt, and a cup of water. Let that heat untill it starts to bubble gently. It's pretty thick, so it won't bubble that much. Add in lemon juice, if and only if you need it. See below on that.
4) By that time, the meat and onions in the other pan should be about ready. Taste a peice of meat to be sure, if you like. Provided it is ready, and the sauce is bubling, add the meat mixture to the sauce. Let both sit for about five minutes.
5) Add in 1/2 teaspoon basil, 2 teaspoons parsley, 1 teaspoon oregeno, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, then turn the heat down a tad. When you turn the heat down, add in the remaining soy sauce and sake. If the sauce is too thick (And mind you, this sauce is supposed to be pretty thick, but if it's too thick for your liking...), add in another half cup or a cup of water, to your liking. Let simmer at least another 10 minutes, preferably 20. Stir occasionaly to prevent it from burning (Because it's thick, it will if you aren't carefull).
6) Put a pot on, fill it halfway with water, add olive oil and a teaspoon of salt to the water, and bring to a boil on high heat. When it starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium and add in your pasta. Cook until tender. Drain water off.
Serve the pasta and the sauce in seperate pans on the table. Some suggested toppings include salt, pepper, parmesean cheese, and for the really adventurous, a bit of crumbled nori.
Enjoy!
*A note on the lemon juice: This is a personal thing... it depends on the tomato paste and so forth... if what you have is sweet, add it. If not, don't. If it's REALLY sweet, double the suggested amount. It helps break up the sweet taste.
*edit* Oh, for the love of pete... It edited out s-h-i-t-a-k-e mushrooms.
