The other day, I made the bold claim that my parent’s stroganoff was the best stroganoff I ever tasted.

There are few problems with this bold claim:

• I was immediately challenged to a dual (or a stroganoff off)
• I hadn’t tasted this stroganoff in a good 15 or so years
• When I last ate it, I didn’t really know what a stroganoff was
• When I asked mum for her recipe, she gave me a basic low-down rather than a step by step

So, armed with mum’s rough guide and my own experience with cooking by feel, here’s my adaptation of the recipe. Use rump or sirloin steak with white button mushrooms. My family always had stroganoff with rice because dinner without rice is not really dinner at all. Feel free to use pasta if you prefer (I did). Did it live up? Yes. Is it the best? I’ll have to test out more recipes to be sure. I see a few slow cooker recipes out there which leads me to imagine you could make a meltingly tender version with cheaper cuts of beef rather than steak.

Serves 2

Ingredients

300 to 400 grams (10 to 14 oz) steak 

1/2 teaspoon salt

A good grind of black pepper

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion

200 grams (7 oz) button mushrooms

2 tablespoons sour cream

Rice or pasta to serve

Preparation

1. Cut steak across the grain into thin strips. Combine with salt, pepper, oil, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and cornflour. Allow to marinade while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. If serving with rice, cook 2 cups of rice to packet instructions at this point.
3. Slice mushrooms thinly and set aside. Peel and cut onion in half. Slice thinly and set aside.
4. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a hot pan. Cook mushrooms and onions over medium heat, stirring occasionally until onions are tender and mushrooms are brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. If serving with pasta, cook 250 grams (9 oz) pasta to packet instructions at this point.
6. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan and add the marinaded beef strips. Fry until browned, add mushrooms and onions back plus 1 cup water. Simmer for 10 minutes until sauce has thickened and the water is well incorporated. Turn off heat, add sour cream and combine until all cream is dissolved. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
7. Serve on top of rice or pasta.

Other posts you may be interested in: