From Russia with love.

No, I’m not talking about the 1963 James Bond movie. This is about the world-famous Russian meal, beef stroganoff. This is a meal commonly found on the dinner rotate of many homes. It’s a family favourite. For us too.

I grew up on European flavours given my parents are both Czech. A lot of the meals I had growing up were typically German or Czech by origins. So beef stroganoff often found it’s way onto the family dinner table. Russia invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 influenced the Czech food culture and general life too. Back when mum was in school, it was compulsory to learn Russian. Can she remember any words now? Not much. Regardless of this, my mum had a varied taste for different cuisines which I’m grateful for. I really don’t know whether her background influenced her cooking this meal, or if it’s because it just is delicious. But I’m glad she did as I grew up loving this delicious and aromatic family favourite.

Head into any supermarket. There you’ll find beef stroganoff sold in either packet mixes or pre-made in jars. Just add onion, mushrooms and either beef or chicken. Perfect if you’re looking for a meal that is extremely convenient to make if you’re time-poor. The flavour, however, isn’t the same as when you make it yourself. After all, homemade is usually always better. Commercially made beef stroganoff is traditionally a creamy white colour when classically it should be red from the tomato paste and paprika.

Here’s an interesting fact… the first recorded beef Stroganoff recipe didn’t include onions or mushrooms ^{(source: Wikipedia)}. Globally today there are many variations of the recipe. The one I like to make includes red wine which makes me one happy mum!

Beef Stroganoff

This Russian recipe is a classical family favourite. With the inclusion of red wine, tomato paste and paprika, this meal is flavoursome and delicious. You don't need to resort to pre-made sauce mixes. Next time make this - at least you know exactly what ingredients are added!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

 

• 750 g rump steak
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 60 g butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 250g small button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 teaspoons beef stock powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup sour cream
• fresh parsley, to decorate

Instructions

 

• Wrap steak in plastic wrap, freeze for 30 minutes or until partly frozen. Remove plastic. Use a sharp knife to cut steak into thin slices. Place steak in a plastic bag with flour and paprika, shake until steak is well coated with flour mixture.
• Melt butter in large saucepan. Add onion and garlic, stirring over medium heat until onion is soft. Increase heat to high and add steak, cooking it in batches until browned all over.
• Return all steak to the pan, add mushrooms, beef stock powder, lemon juice and wine. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until steak is tender.
• Stir in paste and sour cream, stirring constantly over low heat until mixture is heated through.

Notes

• Serve with a little fresh parsley on top of either cooked pasta or rice (white or brown).
• Start by adding only 1/2 cup red wine then taste after 5 minutes once the alcohol has evaporated. If you feel the flavour needs to be more robust (or if you just like red wine!), add the remaining 1/4 cup.
• I don't add any extra seasoning as I find the beef stock powder adds enough on its own. Once you taste it, you may find it needs a little extra seasoning to suit your own tastes.