Creamy pasta (without the cream)

There's no denying I love Italian food and am probably more partial to tomato based sauces but sometimes the ingredients you have on hand lend themselves to a creamy based sauce. But who's always got cream on hand? Not me. (Probably a good thing.) With some sauces you don't need cream, for example, a traditional Carbonara requires beaten eggs, pancetta and cheese, no cream. I had ham and mushrooms in the fridge and really felt like a creamy sauce.  This easy recipe using milk, flour and stock could be used as a base for chicken, any fish, vegetables and tossed through any pasta. This is also an ideal sauce base for a pasta bake.

Creamy Ham & Mushroom Pasta

100gm ham, chopped
handful mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs plain flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup grated cheese (I used Cheddar)
salt and pepper

1. Gently fry onion and garlic until softened.
2. Add ham and mushrooms. Stir in flour for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper.
3. Add milk and stock. Stir until slightly thickened.
4. Add grated cheese and stir until melted.
5. Serve over cooked pasta and finish with cracked pepper and more grated cheese, if desired.

There's no replacement for cream, really, but this is a pretty good alternative and made with standard pantry staples. 

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