Ish. There is nothing traditional about this Beef Stroganoff so I struggled with what to call it. There are onions, mushrooms, garlic, paprika and tomato puree, none of which are traditional. It does have seared steak, brandy and sour cream so on that basis, I’m sticking with Beef Stroganoff.

You might think it a little strange to post this dish at this time of year, but it has been so cold here I haven’t gotten into summer dining yet. A colleague was eating stroganoff for lunch one day and then Elizabeth McDonnell posted the dish on her Insta stories and I got a craving to make it again. Beef Stroganoff is not a dish I was fond of growing up, I always found it a little bland. Over the years I played around with it and now I love this version. To be honest it’s probably more like goulash in flavour but that is more of a slow cooked stew.

Useful tips & links:

Beef Stroganoff is traditionally made with fillet steak. I can’t justify using such an expensive cut in this dish but I find good beef sirloin or striploin works just as well. It’s all about how you cook the meat. To prevent it drying out I keep the steaks whole and cook over a high heat. I like the meat to brown to add flavour and cook it so that you just want to heat it through in the sauce in the end.
A crucial part of this dish is the cooking of the onions. You want to make sure they are completely soft and starting to caramelise so that they add sweetness and depth of flavour to the sauce. This takes time, do not trust any recipe that tells you it will take 5 minutes, they will still be raw.
Sour cream is the traditional dairy product in this but you can use crème fraiche instead. Likewise feel free to substitute white wine for the brandy or leave the alcohol out altogether.
For a different take on this have a look at Sinéad’s Chicken Stroganoff on Shinners and the Brood.
If you want inspiration for another creamy beef dish, have a look at my Beef Rendang.

Beef Stroganoff

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

2 striploin or sirloin steaks, weighing approx. 450g
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of oil
Butter
A large onion, finely sliced
150g of chestnut or button mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of dried porcini powder (optional)
60ml of brandy
200ml of beef stock
200ml of sour cream or crème fraiche
A grating of fresh nutmeg
Worcestershire Sauce
Parsley to decorate

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Season The steak with salt and pepper and sear on both sides until it is a nice dark brown colour. Remove the steaks and set them aside to rest.
Leave the beef fat in the pan, reduce the heat and add a small knob of butter. Gently fry the onions until completely soft and starting to caramelise. This will take aprox 15 minutes.
Once the onions have softened and started to colour add the mushrooms to the pan. Fry until the mushroom are almost cooked. Add in the garlic and tomato puree, stir thoroughly and cook for a further few minutes. Stir through the mustard, paprika and mushroom powder if you are using it. Pour in the brandy and increase the heat. Cook at a high heat until the alcohol has reduced.
Pour in the beef stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken for about 10 minutes.
Add in the sour cream or crème fraiche and gently heat through so that the cream does not split. Allow to cook for another few minutes, add a little grating of fresh nutmeg and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
Remove the fat from the steak and slice the meat thinly. Add it to the sauce and heat the steak through, taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Serve with rice as shown, pasta or matchstick fries and sprinkle over a little chopped parsley and extra paprika.