Light Beef Stroganoff

Hey Liesel - as suggested, I thought I'd lift my Stroganoff comments out of our email chat and re-post them here for all to share.

I like the idea of a light stroganoff. Stroganoff, in general, is one of our favourite family dishes here - even the kids (8, 6 and 3) love it.

My own approach is certainly a lot different from the "traditional" one the Wild Oats guys talk about, though. And different from their light version too - probably somewhere in between in terms of fat content, I guess. Although it's hard to know. I've always cooked mine using a variation of the method my Mom taught me. It takes time, but it's worth it.

I don't think I've ever come across the kind of traditional Stroganoff they describe, with "ground beef and canned mushroom soup". Ew. To me - the best way to start is with a good, lean piece of sirloin or similar steak.

Don't buy the pre-chopped chunks or strips you can get in the supermarkets. There's too much fat included in these "convenience" packs, and you're paying for labour instead of spending all your money on a simple piece of quality meat.

No - grab a nice piece of sirloin and slice it yourself. Note: slice it. None of this "ground" nonsense. Ew, again. Slice it into thin strips, across the grain.

Instead of the broth in Wild Oats' recipe, I build a base for the sauce by combining some chopped shallots, garlic, a glass of red wine, plenty of paprika, and your favourite herbs (rosemary goes well. Not exactly traditional, again - but what the hell).

Then a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar and some very light soy or worcestershire sauce, all reduced down until it's more like a thick glaze on the shallots than a runny broth. Intense, yummy, and probably even lower fat than their recipe.

Should have mentioned that I use a little of the fat left from browning the beef, instead of adding any butter or oil. If you have a really good, heavy pan, you shouldn't need any oil or butter to brown the beef strips. Once they're just browned - lift them out into a bowl, dump out most of the fat, give the pan a quick wipe with some kitchen towel to blot the excess, then pop in your shallots and start the sauce.

Later into the process, the beef goes back in, along with sliced mushrooms and whatever else you feel like. Room temperature sour cream is the last main ingredient to add - along with any extra paprika and/or black pepper to taste.

Sometimes, we tart ours up a bit further by adding some roasted red pepper strips towards the end.

Another way we do it is to throw in a large handful of unsliced grape tomatoes about 5 minutes before serving. Our kids love this, calling it "exploding tomato stroganoff" - the tomatoes burst against the roof of your mouth like little flavour bombs.

Oh - and we have it on wild rice, or just plain basmati - much nicer than slimy noodles, I think. Soaks up the sauce.

If you're ever in Toronto with the family, give us a call - we'll whip up a batch for you to try :-)

I noted that you had a stroganoff recipe, made in the more traditional way. May I suggest trying a recipe from my cookbook, Mushroom Stroganoff with Herbed Pasta, delicious, quick to make and meat-less too. If you would like the recipe to try/feature on your site, let me know and I will forward it to you. My own request would be a link back to my cookbook website and/or blog. My cookbook is: Not Just for Vegetarians, Delicious Homestyle Cooking, the Meatless Way.

Cheers from Canada,
Geraldine

www.notjustforveg.com

www.veggiesyarnsandtails.wordpress.com


PS Your blog looks interesting, I look forward to reading more as time permits.