Healthy beef stroganoff

One of my son’s favorites, I’m finally getting around to writing it down so he can make it, himself. It’s important to choose a nice cut of beef, because the beef is essentially healthy beef stroganoff-fried, rather than slow cooked. I like to use brown cremini mushrooms in this, but button mushrooms will also work just fine. It’s important to use low-sodium broth, to prevent the finished sauce from becoming too salty.

Remove beef from pan and keep warm. It’s important to remove the beef as soon as it’s lightly browned – don’t worry about cooking through, because it will cook through when returned to the sauce. In same pan, saute onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Cover if necessary to keep pan from drying out. When vegetables are tender, deglaze pan with chicken broth and wine.

Add worchestershire sauce, ketchup, pepper and parsley. Stir, and taste sauce for salt – you probably won’t need any due to the salt in the other ingredients. Return beef to skillet, and stir to combine. Place sour cream in a small bowl, and add 3 T. This warms and thins the cream so it doesn’t curdle when added to the pan. Meantime, the sauce in the pan should have reduced, and just barely coats the beef and mushrooms. Add the sour cream mixture to the pan, and stir to combine.

Sometimes, the sauce will look a bit “grainy” at this point – just increase the heat and reduce a little, and it’ll become creamy again. I don’t think I’ve seen a recipe using it before. This is a fabulous recipe, SO rich in flavor. The only changes I made, only because I didn’t have mushrooms and had just run out of olive oil, was to use 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and a tablespoonful of rendered beef fat I had in the freezer. The wine I used was Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve cabernet sauvignon. Nothing is so easy, elegant and delicious as a beef stroganoff.

James Martin uses the best fillet to make his recipe the height of luxury. 3 minutes, or until just softened. Add the tomato purée, mustard and paprika and cook for a further minute. Season the beef with salt and freshly ground black pepper.