beef Stroganoff ~ Easy stuff
Tonight I just got this hankerin for an easy one-pot dish with lots of flavor. I've had the hunk of beef sittin in the fridge just calling me to do something good with her. On the way back from the body shop tonight I couldn't get this tangy, creamy, robust dish outta my mind. Got home to find a couple of items I needed in short rations but, what the hell, it tasted pretty damn good anyway.
For a good stroganoff you're gonna need some of this stuff:
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From the ten o'clock position we got some Thai beef tenderloin, this stuff is long on flavor; short as hell on fat though. We got some beef Rot Di (if you've got good ol' beef bullion that's even better); you won't need much, if any, but it's nice to have some to finish the sauce. Then there's the star of this dish; sour cream, some thinly sliced onion pieces; (I was short on this ingredient you should have one to one-and-a-half medium yellow onions) cut in half, sliced once diagonally then sliced across that thinly, and some garlic. Not pictured is a pinch of Summer savory. Savory just seems to enhance tangy dishes like this and is my preference. Thyme, oregano even fresh basil might suit your tastes even more. Suit your self.
Enough chit chat, let's cook some food.
Start with a hot pan. add about a tablespoon, or so, of virgin olive oil.
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I love this smell... If the oil's good, the room fills with the aroma of freshly crushed olives...
When the pan temp comes back up add the beef.
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now while the beef browns go ahead and cut the mushrooms. Did I mention Mushrooms? Lot's o' Mushrooms!
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Once the beef has browed up some (make sure to let it brown nicely, this imparts a nice flavor to the sauce and reduces the amount of beef concentrate we need to add later)
add the 'shrooms, garlic and onion and brown those 'shrooms some too:
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While the shrooms brown take a minute to toss together a simple salad with crisp lettuce, fresh tommy-toes and whatever else you like in there. I made a quick dressing of red-wine vinegar, garlic, lemon and olive oil for this bowl of rabbit food.
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'Bout time you're done with that, the beef's probably ready for the next step:
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Go ahead 'n add a couple cups of water to that:
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if you're smart, you ain't turned the heat down yet and that water should boil up right quick. This is a good time to add the sour cream. I added the entire package and then another half package left in the refer some coleslaw i made the otehr day. Bring that up to a boil and reduce the heat:
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Now, this has got a to simmer a while; in fact, the longer the better, but 'bout this time I'm gettin hungry so I'm gonna drop some lightweight egg-noodles in salted boling water with a bit of olive oil foated on top.:
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The noodles can cook a bit while the sauce reduces by about half, or so. Should look something like this:
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This dish just screams for some robust red and crusty bread with thick slabs of butter smeared all over, but tell the truth, i'm through fuckin around i just wanna eat:
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Not bad at all...
if you're an adventurous type a bit of pale ale could be substituted for the water a brew with soe strong yeast flavors and minimum hop would probably be best. one of them flat english beer might just have a place after all... ;)
Remember, the two most important things on this planet are sex and food. Experiement and enjoy.
