Beef Stroganoff  

Stroganoff fillets are prepared by cutting the meat into half-centimeter-thick slices and then cutting them into strips that will be browned in a pan and served seasoned with mushrooms and sour cream. Beef stroganoff is a typical dish of Russian cuisine, a kind of meat stew seasoned with a creamy and flavorful sauce made from sour cream, mustard, and spices. Flavors mostly foreign to the palate of us Italians, however beef stroganoff can be a different second course than usual and surprising for its particular taste and for the softness of the meat. To prepare beef stroganoff, tenderloin is usually used, or a particularly tender part of the beef which will then be cut into thin slices. Since the cooking is quite fast, it is better to avoid fattier and less valuable cuts, usually used for our stew which has very long cooking times. In beef stroganoff, onions are a must, while the addition of mushrooms (which in my opinion are very good) is not contemplated in all recipes. Here are the steps for tenderloin stroganoff.

Ingredients

Beef tenderloin 800 g 

Champignon mushrooms 400 g 

White onion 400 g 

Mustard 1 tbsp 

Butter 50 g 

Extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons 

Salt to taste 

Pepper to taste 

Fresh liquid cream 4 ml

Preparation

Cut the meat, with a very sharp knife, in the opposite direction to that of the fibers, obtaining slices of about 1/2 cm. Then divide them into strips of 1 cm in length in the opposite direction. Then clean the mushrooms with the help of a damp cloth to remove all soil residues and with a knife remove the lower part of the stem which is always the dirtiest part; then cut them into strips. At this point, fry the finely chopped onions and mushrooms in a pan and then cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. When the mushrooms are cooked, discard the cooking liquid. In another pan, meanwhile, melt the butter and brown the meat, stirring constantly. Add the mushrooms to the meat, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix in the mustard and cream, leaving to cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes. You can then serve the dish hot.

Recommendations

A tasty variant of this version is the one that uses 50 cl of vodka, which will be added to the meat being cooked to increase its taste.