"Beef stroganoff is a dish consisting of strips of lean beef sauteed and served in a sour-cream sauce with onions and mushrooms. The reicpe, which is of Russian origin, has been known since the eighteenth century, but its name appears to come from County Paul Stroganoff, a nineteeth-century Russian diplomat." An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto
While I would usually make this recipe with beef as is traditional, I wanted something really quick after the gym last week that would also do me for lunch the next day, so I threw this mushroom version together. Although traditional stroganoff recipes call for a sauce comprising bouillon and sour cream, I like mine with tomato puree (as served by my mother and apparently Brazilians) and a little wholegrain mustard. This dish is wonderful with creamy mashed potatoes or rice and mine is pictured here with stir-fried cabbage as well.
To make this recipe with beef, you can use cheap cuts of stewing or braising steak, sliced very thinly and fried, a little at a time in the pan and allowing the whole dish to simmer for at least an hour before adding the sour cream.
500g Chestnut Mushrooms (sliced to about quarter of an inch thick)
1 Medium Onion (chopped finely)
500ml Beef Stock
1 Heaped tsp Wholegrain Mustard
1 Heaped tsp Tomato Puree
Sour Cream to Taste
Salt & Fresh Black Pepper
A Little Oil (As usual, I used groundnut oil)
Serves 2
1) Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions until just going brown.
2) Tip in all of the sliced mushrooms (there will seem to be a lot, but they will shrink!) and gently fried until just soft and slightly browned.
3) Pour in the beef stock and stir in the mustard, tomato puree, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes until the stock has reduced by about a third.
4) Stir in sour cream to taste, and serve immediately.