BEEF STROGANOFF Copyright 2013 The Mobile Home Gourmet, MobileHomeGourmet.com, all rights reserved.

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1 BEEF STROGANOFF Serves 4 to 6. By Dennis W. Viau; created from several recipes. My mom s beef stroganoff sauce was a can of cream of mushroom soup and a roughly equal amount of sour cream. At least she used cut up beef rather than hamburger. For this recipe I wanted to stay close to the tradition, but add a few variations of my own for dish that I could proudly serve my guests. For added originality, I made my own pasta from scratch, but you can use the noodles available in the store. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons oil for sautéing 4 tablespoons butter 1 pound (454g) beef (sirloin, tenderloin, whatever cut would make an excellent stroganoff) 1 medium onion (8 oz./225g); diced Optional: 1 or 2 shallots (less than 1 oz./28g); diced 2 cloves of garlic; minced 6 to 8 ounces (170 to 225g) fresh mushrooms; sliced (crimini or shiitake) 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup (240ml) beef stock or broth (see Note at end) 1 to 2 teaspoons dijon mustard 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons dry sherry, wine, brandy, vermouth, whatever 3 sprigs fresh thyme; the stems removed and discarded 1 tablespoon tomato paste Optional: ½ teaspoon smoked paprika 1 cup (250g) sour cream 1 pound wide egg noodles Directions: Cut the steak into short, thin strips. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and the butter in a large skillet. Sauté the beef quickly over medium-high heat, leaving much of it still a little pink. Remove from the pan, cover and set aside. Add the diced onion to the pan, keeping any beef juices that might remain in the skillet, and sauté the onion until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté a minute longer. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside. Add the sliced mushrooms with the remaining tablespoon of oil and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. More oil or butter can be added to the skillet if it looks too dry. Add flour to the pan and stir, cooking it about a minute. Add the stock, optional mustard, lemon juice, sherry (or other liquor), thyme leaves, tomato paste, and optional paprika. Simmer to reduce the liquid by about half. Meanwhile, start cooking the noodles according to package directions. When the noodles are nearly cooked, add the beef and the sour cream to the skillet. Heat until warm enough to serve. Do not overheat, as this will cook the beef and possibly make it tough. Drain the noodles, butter well, and plate, spooning plenty of the beef stroganoff mixture on top. Serve with a green vegetable. The Step By Step guide begins on the following page

2 1 STEP-BY-STEP 2 Here is my mise en place for this dish. Some of these items are optional in fact, many of them might be considered optional because they are not typical of the classic Russian dish the lemon juice, for example, which I think brightens up the flavor. 2 Although in the first photo I showed a package of wide egg noodles, I chose to make my own pasta for this dish. Fresh pasta is not necessary. The noodles sold in the store will suffice. If you choose to make your own noodles, there is a recipe for Pasta From Scratch on my web site.

3 3 3 One issue when making fresh noodles is that the pasta dough needs to sit, wrapped, for at least an hour to let the flour absorb moisture. The dough will be easier to work with after it rests for a while. 4 I chose to use a piece of sirloin for this dish, wanting to create a dish with decent quality beef. Tenderloin, or even New York Strip, are better cuts, but there is no need to be too extravagant.

4 5 4 It is important not to overcook the beef, which would make it tough. Therefore, sauté it only until it is about half cooked, leaving plenty of pink. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside. 6 Dice an onion to a small to medium chop.

5 7 5 I had a shallot that was nearing the end of its freshness, so I sliced it and added it to the onions. Shallots are optional in this dish. 8 Sauté the onion (and shallot) until tender and golden, about 10 minutes, reducing the heat as the moisture evaporates. Then add the minced garlic and sauté an additional minute. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside.

6 9 6 Slice the mushrooms thinly. I am using criminis here, the white button mushrooms common in most grocery stores. If you wanted to use a better type, shiitakes would make a good substitute. 10 Sauté until tender. Mushrooms are like little sponges and will absorb liquid in the pan. If the pan seems dry, you can add a little additional butter or oil. Add the flour to the pan and cook an additional minute.

7 11 7 Add the stock, mustard, lemon juice, sherry, thyme, tomato paste, and paprika. Simmer to reduce the liquid by about half. Then, start cooking the noodles according to package directions. When they are nearly done, add the beef and the sour cream. Heat until the mixture is serving temperature. Drain the noodles, dress well with butter, and plate, spooning the stroganoff over the noodles. 12 Here are my homemade noodles. They cook in only a minute or two.

8 13 8 Conclusion This Beef Stroganoff makes an elegant meal. Serve with a green vegetable on the side. I chose to sauté Brussels sprouts in olive oil, which I garnished with a little shredded Romano cheese. Note I almost always have chicken stock in my freezer, but never beef stock. I rarely cook beef. So I make a cheater beef stock by heating chicken stock and then dissolving a teaspoon or two of beef bouillon in it. Most storebought stocks or broths are high in sodium, providing all the salt you ll need for this dish. Bouillon is typically high in salt as well; therefore, this recipe doesn t say adjust for salt, but you can add salt if you prefer.