Beef Stroganoff Recipe

You Can Count on This Beef Recipe

Favorite Restaurant Beef Recipe

This Beef Stroganoff Recipe is one example of adopting ethnic dishes and making them your own.

This classic dish is named after a nineteenth-century Russian diplomat named Count Paul Stroganov. It became popular in America after WWII when returning servicemen brought the recipe back to the States with them.

Beef Stroganoff is basically tender strips of beef and usually mushrooms cooked in a sour cream sauce. Of course ground beef will work with this recipe, as well.

In Russia, Beef Stroganoff is usually served with (or on top of) French fries, or with mashed potatoes.

Although undoubtedly good this way, most Americans serve stroganoff over pasta or rice or occasionally over mashed potatoes (my husband's preference...but he is not Russian).

Many people I know use ground beef to make stroganoff. They do so because of the cost of beef and sometimes because it seems easier to prepare. And some of these same people and others substitute yogurt or some other product for the sour cream in order to reduce calories.

Although these substitutes can result in a flavorful meal, for me these meals are really not quite the same as a real stroganoff. I take a different approach when concerned with the price and calories of a recipe. I make it less often than I might otherwise and I serve smaller portions than I know many people do.

So this beef stroganoff recipe still calls for a tender cut of beef, such as tenderloin or at least top sirloin. And I use real sour cream.

Beef Stroganoff Recipe

Beef Recipe from Restaurant

Preparation time: 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 24 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 2 1/2 cups consomme' or beef stock
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter for roux
• 4-6 tablespoons flour for roux
• 2/3 pound of sour cream
• 2 pounds thinly sliced cooked beef strips
• Sour cream for garnish, if desired (I like it rich)
• Chopped parsley for garnish
• 1 pound fettuccine pasta (for buffet service I use Bow Tie, Penne or Farfalle so I don't have pasta flopping around when dishing up)

Instructions:

• Heat a skillet or a sauté pan over medium-low heat until hot
• Sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until onions start to turn translucent
• Add the sherry and cook 2 more minutes to incorporate flavor
• Add Consommé' and water (or beef stock) and bring to a boil
• In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions (al dente') in four quarts of water in a stock pot and drain well
• Pour back into the same pot it was cooked in and put on a burner that has been turned off to remove any moisture on the pasta (keep pasta warm)
• Make the roux
• Heat a small skillet or sauce pan over medium-low heat
• When the pan is hot, melt the butter
• Add the flour to the butter and stir with a wire whip or wooden spoon until the roux is smooth

• Continue cooking 2 minutes and then slowly add the roux to the sauce while stirring until the sauce is the correct thickness
• If you are serving the stroganoff immediately, add the cooked meat to the sauce and cook over medium heat until hot throughout
• Remove the stroganoff from the heat and add the sour cream, stirring well
• Put back on medium heat and cook a few minutes, but do not boil

Plate the pasta and ladle the sauce over and garnish with more sour cream and parsley

For buffet service, combine the pasta and sauce in one pan and garnish with chopped parsley.

I usually serve my beef stroganoff recipe with a salad  and either some wonderful Artisan bread or garlic bread.

Enjoy your beef stroganoff recipe and the company of those you share it with.

Donna

"My father would often work all night and sleep during the day, so for us, dinner might be pancakes, and breakfast might be beef stroganoff."

Ahmet Zappa

                     (Lots of people love stroganoff over potatoes)