Creamy Cumin Pasta

I have a confession to make. I am a recipe stealer. If I go to your house and like what I eat, I will either hound you for the exact recipe, or subtly muscle the ingredients out of you and recreate it at home.

To my family and friends, sorrynotsorry.

This is one such recipe. My aunt brought a veritable vat of it to a family gathering and I hovered over it most of the evening, gorging and trying to tease out the ingredients. It is incredibly unusual, creamy, yet spiced and sweet. Delicious hot for dinner, or cold for lunch. This is my homage to one of the nicest pasta dishes I've ever had, so thanks Auntie Mandy!

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 200g pasta
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 250g minced beef
• 100ml beef stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 50g cream cheese
• Optional additions: sweetcorn, mushrooms.

Method

Begin, as I so often find myself of an evening, by chopping the onions and garlic.

Place some boiling water in a pan and get the pasta cooking.

Heat some oil in a pan. Add the onion, garlic and cumin seeds to the pan and gently fry until softened.

Stir through the beef and mix well until cooked through, it should only take a few minutes.

When the mince is all browned, stir through the ground cumin, garam masala and curry powder and mix well. At this point I’d have added mushrooms or sweetcorn.

Pour over the stock and let bubble gently for 10 minutes until slightly reduced. You want the mince moist but not swimming in sauce.

Put a decent dollop of cream cheese (honestly, didn’t measure mine) in, and stir through.

When all combined, pour in the drained, cooked pasta, mix again and serve immediately.