Beef Stroganoff – Quick & Easy

I mentioned recently that I will be presenting some recipes which are not baking but which are quite easy to make and which are very tasty indeed. One such recipe is my version of Beef Stroganoff.

Beef Stroganoff is a traditional Russian dish though, if you click the link above you can see, it is likely quite different to what we in the West often make. Indeed there are many variations of the recipe which can be tailored to personal preferences.

Traditionally the recipe would be made using sour cream and it is often used today too. But other recipes use cream, crème fraîche and/or beef stock instead, in various combinations. In fact it seems that sour cream, if used, is best added to the dish after the addition of cream. The reason for that being that sour cream has a tendency to separate if added into the dish just by itself.

The cut of beef used is, these days, most commonly a tender one such as beef fillet (tenderloin) or sirloin which requires very little cooking. But I am sure cheaper cuts of meat could be used though they would need to be cooked for longer to make them tender.

I ought to mention that the ratio of meat to onions and mushrooms is a matter of personal preference. I tend to like rather a lot of mushrooms, since they reduce down quite considerably.

It seems that the original version didn’t include onions and mushrooms, both of which are considered an integral part of the recipe these days. For my version of the recipe I prefer to use chestnut mushrooms, (also known as portabello or cremini) but others will work just as well.

I should say that when researching beef stroganoff I saw so many different recipes, and watched many videos, all of which differed in some respects. Some added some alcohol and others added some spices such as paprika. The one, almost, constant flavouring was Dijon mustard.

For my recipe I made everything as simple as possible using just the beef, onions and mushrooms with the sauce being simply the mustard,crème fraîche and beef stock.

The amount and the consistency, of the sauce is a matter of personal preference. For me I like to have enough sauce to easy coat my rice or pasta. I should mention that though the dish is usually served with rice or pasta it also works very well with mashed potatoes.

I have to say that this recipe is now one of my firm favourites. It is so easy to make, taking very little time and rewards me with a truly enjoyable dinner.

Another very easy stove top recipe is Caponata.

Beef Stroganoff – Quick & Easy

Recipe by geoffcooCourse: Stove top recipesCuisine: RussianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 500g(1lb 3 oz) beef fillet/sirloin cut into thin(1 cm) strips

• 400g(14 oz) mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

• 230g(8 oz) onions, sliced

• 22ml(1 1/2 tbsp) Dijon mustard

• 240ml(1 cup) crème fraîche (or cream/sour cream/yoghurt)

• 240ml(1 cup) beef stock

• 14g(1 tbsp) butter

• 14g(1 tbsp) oil, plus more to fry off onions

• salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions

• Place the butter and oil into a large pan and heat until the butter has melted and is foaming.
• Add half the beef and fry off for one minute then turn over and fry for a further 30 seconds.
• Remove the beef to a clean bowl and repeat the frying process for the other half.
• Pour the juices from the pan into a bowl and set aside.
• Heat a little oil(1 tbsp or so) in the pan and then add the onions and sweat them off over a low heat until they are translucent and softened.
• Add the mushrooms and stir them into the onions, then cook them until they release lots of liquid.
• Continue to cook the mushrooms until most of the released liquid has disappeared.
• Stir in the Dijon Mustard.
• Add the stock and the crème fraîche and stir until combined.
• Pour in the reserved juices and stir until combined.
• Cook the mixture until the sauce is reduced to the consistency you want, adding salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the beef into the sauce and stir around.
  
• Continue to cook for one minute, just to heat the beef through, then cover the pan and remove from the heat until you are ready to serve.