BACON MUSHROOM PASTA

Steps:

• Add 1 ½ Tbsp salt in 4 quarts (4L) of water and bring it to a boil for cooking spaghetti. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Once water is boiling, add spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Tip 1: Stop cooking 1 minute earlier as you will continue to cook pasta in the frying pan. Tip 2: Before draining the pasta, reserve ½ cup (120 ml) pasta cooking water. Drain well and set aside.
• Cut the bacon slices into ½ inch (1.25 cm) pieces.
• Cut the bottom of the mushrooms and slice them. Cut the bottom end of shimeji mushrooms.
• Remove the stem of shiitake mushrooms and slice them.
• In a large frying pan, heat 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Note: if you use a non-stick frying pan, you can skip the oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the bacon and saute
• Once the bacon fat renders, crush 2 cloves garlic and add into the pan.
• Add all the mushrooms and saute together. Add 1 Tbsp butter and freshly ground black pepper.
• Add the flour and make sure to keep stirring so the flour doesn't stick at the bottom of the pan.
• Stir in 1 cup milk, ⅓ cup heavy cream, and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Continue scraping off the bottom of the pan. Flour will thicken the sauce.
• Taste the sauce and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste if necessary. If the sauce is too thick, you can add ¼ cup of pasta cooking water (after that, add a tablespoon one at a time) to dilute the sauce. Tip: You want to make sure it tastes a bit stronger than you want the final dish to be (because you will add spaghetti).
• Add cooked spaghetti in the frying pan, or alternatively, you can pour the sauce over the spaghetti on a serving plate. Using the pair of tongs, coat the spaghetti with the sauce.
• If you like, add freshly ground black pepper. Serve and garnish with parsley.