April 2004 - Quick Beef Stroganoff

This is the second magazine in a row where the cover recipe looks so good that it is hard to resist making it. However the amount of chocolate in The Ultimate Chocoholics Muffin is just too much for me to eat at the moment.

I was going to make the Country Chicken & Vegetable Pie. It looks so good and was one of only two recipes that I had marked in this issue. The creamy filling topped by a lard and butter pastry looks pretty glorious. It seems to be an easy recipe and I am sure that it would be tasty. I hope to make it one day. I seem to be building up a lot of recipes that I want to come back to. These are all added to the huge amount of recipes that I have bookmarked from other blogs and websites. Then, of course, there are the ones that I have already tried but are so good that they have to be made again. There just does not seem to been enough days to make all these incredible recipes. This is especially so when I almost always end up with leftovers. It would be a lot easier if I could make just exactly enough to feed me.

While the chicken pie looked really good, a couple of weeks ago I was looking for something quick and easy to make for in dinner after work. In the end I settled on the other recipe that I had marked in issue #26. Valli Little's Quick Beef Stroganoff was very easy to make, was quick and very tasty. Valli's serving suggestion was boiled potatoes and gherkins. I didn't want heavy potatoes with it so I steamed a piece of spaghetti squash and some green beans to serve with it. I enjoyed it enough to say that I would make it again when I am looking for a simple after work meal. It also helps that I normally have all the ingredients for it in my fridge/freezer, with the exception of the sour cream but it is not hard to pick that up on the way home.

Quick Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 600g fillet steak, thinly slice (I used eye fillet)
  
• 1 1/2 tbs flour
• 2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp chopped thyme
• 250g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup (60ml) brandy
• 150ml beef stock
• 300ml sour cream

Method

• Toss meat in a bowl with flour and paprika to coat.
  
• Heat oil in a large frypan over high heat and fry steak quickly in batches for 1-2 minutes or until seared on all sides. Remove and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium-high, add butter and onion and cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to soften and colour.
  
• Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then thyme and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
  
• Add brandy and stock and allow to bubble for a further minute.
  
• Stir in sour cream, steak and any meat juices, then season with salt and pepper.