Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Eating In: Beef Stroganoff



Waaaaay back on my 17th birthday my mum gave me what is quite possibly one of the best cook books of all time. I tell you, if it's not in this book, it ain't worth cookin'!

So when I had a hankering for some stroganoff where else would I look? The list of ingredients required is, well, frightening in its length, but really you'd possibly have most of it in the cupboard already! Besides, it really is pretty damn simple.

I made the full amount, then container-d it up to have leftovers for a few days :-)

Beef Stroganoff

You'll need: 1kg steak, plain flour, freshly ground black pepper, olive oil, 1 onion, mushrooms, ground sweet paprika, tomato paste, french mustard, good quality dry white wine (ie. if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it), chicken stock, and sour cream.

Trim fat and sinew from 1kg fillet of steak. Slice it across the grain into short thin pieces. Season 1/3 cup of plain flour with 1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper then toss the meat through, shaking off excess.
Heat 2 tbl of oil in a heavy-based pan. Cook the meat quickly, in small batches, stirring over medium-high heat, until browned really well. Drain on some paper towels.
Add 1/4 cup of oil to the pan, add 1 large chopped onion and cook over medium heat until it's soft. Add 500g small mushrooms and stir over heat for about 5 minutes. Add 1 tbl ground sweet paprika, 1 tbl tomato paste, 2 tbl french mustard, 1/2 cup dry white wine and 1/4 cup chicken stock, bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Return the meat to the pan and add 3/4 cup of sour cream, stir until combined and just heated through. Serve with a sprinkling of finely chopped fresh parsley.

You may notice from the picture that I dished mine up with rice. What can I say, I like my strog with rice. I know it's not traditional, but me likey.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Me likey stroganoff too. My particular method of preparation is care of Rick Stein. You can find his recipe here.

And I am quite partial to the rice too. But you can't beat a good ol' mash IMHO :-)

Anna said...

Ooooo, strog 'n' mash... never thought of that, sounds positively divine! Will have to give that a go next time.

Will check out that Rick Stein recipe too, thanks :-)

melbourne dreaming said...

Hey there, so what is this magic cook book? I have never made stroganoff, will have to try it...

Anna said...

Do it! It really is pretty damn easy.

The book is The Family Circle Recipe Encyclopedia - doubles as a weapon, it's that heavy! It's the most brilliant book - all these recipes, but then down the sides of each page it IS an encyclopedia of all kinds of foods and stuff. Like, on the strog page there's actually an entry for sukiyaki, another of my all-time favourite meals, and it tells you briefly where it originated, what's in it, how it's made... it's just so brilliant. I can't talk it up enough. But sorry - I'll stop rambling now!