KELLEY: I was inspired to make Beef Stroganoff for this month's Courters' Kitchen by a conversation I had with a man named Chicken. He works for the local power company and was at the house to reattach the fiber-optic line after some tree work had been done. He told me his favorite dish is Beef Stroganoff.
BARRY: So this is a Chicken-inspired beef dish?
KELLEY: Right. Anyway, I did a little research and was surprised to learn that there are many ways to prepare and serve the dish other than the ground-beef-laden sauce served over pasta. The original Russian recipe featured beef cubes in a mustard and bouillon sauce with sour cream and no onions or mushrooms.
Later versions were served with potato straws. It also can be served with beef strips over rice.
BARRY: I've only known the ground beef and pasta ribbon version.
KELLEY: I decided to try something different, so we grilled two tenderloins, made a somewhat traditional sauce with shiitake and button mushrooms, pickles, onions and sour cream and served it with a side of shoestring french fries.
BARRY: I have to admit, when Kelley told me we were having Beef Stroganoff with shoestring fries out of the freezer, it seemed about as fancy as popping a couple of frozen dinners into the microwave. Would there be a frozen brownie and a juice box also?
I was wrong, of course, and the meal was very good.
KELLEY: I've eaten the noodle version of Stroganoff in the past with, I think, top round of beef and everything all mixed together like most people eat the dish. I personally enjoyed preparing the dish this way. You had the grilled steak, the potatoes and the sauce, which you could mix in just the right amount of sour cream in each bite. Who doesn't like steak and potatoes. The other item to share is that I didn't have enough fresh mushrooms, so I added about a 1/4 cup of dried porcini in about a 1/2 cup water. I added this water to the sauce as it was cooking. I also added about 2 tablespoons of a dry brown gravy mix just to help thicken the sauce. You could also add a little slurry of flour/water if needed. I just wanted a little thicker sauce.
One might ask why to add pickles and dill. I think it enhances the flavor of the sauce with the addition of the sour cream. It also gives a little added crunch.
You can take a Stroganoff recipe and mix it up all kinds of ways. Good stuff!
For our version of Beef Stroganoff, we grilled the beef tenderloin pieces and poured the sauce over the sliced meat. Instead of pasta, we had shoestring fries.Beef Stroganoff
2 beef tenderloin fillets
Montreal steak seasoning (as much as you want, to coat both sides of tenderloins)
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces assorted mushroom blend, sliced
1 large shallot, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 container demi-glace concentrate (follow directions on package)
cup white wine
cup sliced cornichons
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
Fresh ground black pepper
Sour cream
Rub seasoning on both sides of steaks and let sit while the grill gets ready. Once steaks are on the grill, prepare sauce. Melt the butter in saute pan, then add mushrooms and shallots. Cook until soft. Add tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire, demi-glace and wine. Reduce till slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add cornichons, herbs and black pepper to taste. Let steaks rest for a couple of minutes, then slice and top with desired amount of sauce. Add a dollop of sour cream. Serve with thin-cut fries.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.