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Beef Stroganoff

What’s cuter than a naked baby? Nothin’. Period.

Well, I suppose the baby in question might be cuter if it was your own, but this is my blog, so I am going to continue to inundate you with pictures of my children until they are old enough to make me stop. Especially naked ones like this. Mainly I’m putting this up for my Mom. Hi Mom! *waves* That’s for you!

You know what’s not as cute as a naked baby? When your toddler teams up with said baby to destroy your beloved magazines.

Troublemakers! I am in deep doo-doo people. These kids are going to kill me, and I know it’s going to long, slow and painful. Just imagine the trouble these two are going to come up with when they are teenagers! Oh, someone say a prayer for me.

While you’re praying, I’m going to talk about food.

Let’s talk stroganoff, an oft misguided dinner. I know it’s good any which way it’s made. How could meat, mushrooms, groovy sauce and pasta be bad? But I want to go out on a limb here, and be the gourmand you all know I am. (oh and if you think I’m a food snob, you should hear my husband talk…)

Beef stroganoff is often (shudder) made with canned soups and ground beef. If you could see the sighing, eye rolling and deep breaths being taken right now, you’d know how I feel about that. Really, anything being made with Campbell’s canned soups will not be found in my house, sorry! Call me a foodie, a food snob, or (gasp) a foochebag, if you will, but I cannot stand that stuff any longer. Yes, I see it’s merits in quick dinners for families in a hurry, but with a little forethought and planning, your family could be eating fresh pasta with a damn fine (if not almost traditional and delicious) stroganoff poured over top.

Beef Stroganoff is a classic Russian dish made with strips of beef, mushrooms and a sour cream based sauce. From there you can take in anywhere you wish. Adding wine, spices, herbs, crème fraiche, etc to liven it up a bit. You can serve it on rice, or potatoes or you can go with egg noodles.

This recipe calls for wine and if you are up to the challenge, pickles. There’s not much planning that’s needed, though starting early is a good idea if you want to go slow and drink some of the wine while your cooking, I know I do. The pasta is quick and easier than you think and once the sauce is started, it’s ready in minutes. So what are you waiting for? Next time someone asks for a yummy pasta dish, make this!

One Year Ago: Vegetarian Black Bean Burgers

Beef Stroganoff

Yield: 2-3 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

13 oz beef steak (hanger, skirt, striploin, rib eye,  sirloin, etc.), sliced VERY thin
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 small onions (or one small onion and two  small shallots), sliced into strips or diced
12 oz crimini or button mushrooms, quartered
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
sea or kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp paprika
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup red wine
2/3 cup sour cream (full fat or light)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small sour pickle, julienned (optional)

*Note: Having everything measured out and ready to use (mise en place) really does make your life easier, though maybe not the person doing the dishes. You won’t have to be looking everywhere for ingredients if they are already measured and ready to go.

1. Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a heavy bottomed, deep sided sauté pan or Dutch oven.
2. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5-10 minutes or until they are slightly golden in colour. Sprinkle with flour and stir to combine. Pour in stock and redwine, stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Allow flour to cook for 2-4 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. (Save yourself from dirtying two pans by completely removing onions from pan and setting in a bowl or other dish.)


3.  Season sliced beef with salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in pan on high heat. Add mushrooms and brown for about 2-3 minutes. Add meat and sear for two minutes.
5. Add onion/stock mix to mushrooms. Stir in sour cream and Worcestershire, and remove from heat.
6. Serve over fresh pasta (recipe follows) or store bought egg noodles cooked to package directions (al dente). Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and julienned pickles if desired.

Fresh Egg Pasta

Yield: 3-4 servings
 Prep Time: 1 hour
 Cooking Time: 3-5 minutes

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
4 large eggs

1. Remove all jewelery on the hands and wrists! Believe me, you don’t want to have them anywhere near this stuff.
2. In a bowl, mix the two flours until well combined. Pour out onto a clean, dry surface and form a well by making a depression in the pile.


3. Crack the eggs into the well and dig in with your hands, mixing the egg into the flour.
4. Continue mixing until you have so much egg and flour stuck to your hands you can’t stand it anymore. Scrape off your hands, go wash them and return to the business at hand. Continue to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes.


5. Form into a ball, cover in a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes- 2 hours.


6. When ready to roll out, flour the surface to be rolled on very well. Also rub some flour on the dough and continue to do so well you roll it out. Cut the dough into two pieces and either run through a pasta machine until thin or roll out with a rolling pin until quite thin (Even your kids can help!). The preferred shape for this dish is long and about 1 cm in width. I use a pizza cutter to slice it, but a knife works equally well.


7. Lay the pasta, once cut, onto a broom handle laying across the kitchen or somewhere else you can hang your pasta. This prevents it from sticking together and becoming unusable. (Wash the handle first!)


8. Bring a large pot 2/3 full of water to a boil, add 1-2 tsp of salt and add pasta. Boil for 3-5 minutes for al dente. Check the pasta by fishing a piece out and biting it. Is it to the desired consistency? If so drain and serve!


Similarly delicious recipes from other tasty food blogs:

Chicken Stroganoff on No Recipes
Kurzeme Stroganoff (Latvian pork stroganoff recipe) on Nami-Nami
Butternut Squash Beef Stroganoff on Bitchin’ Camero
Venison Stroganoff on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
Braised Beef Rib Stroganoff, January King Cabbage and Carrot Crush on The British Larder

Elizabeth January 11th, 2011 | Print This Recipe Print This Recipe

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