Beef Stroganoff

Finally, a 2-day off from work! I have been working so hard these past few days that I just felt I needed to reward myself. What better way to give yourself a treat than to make something "special" in the kitchen. I've been flipping my cookbook for a hour, however, none of the recipes caught my eye. I wanted to make a special beef dish. Then, Beef Stroganoff popped in my mind..

This is my first time making this lavish Russian dish. I wanted to make it perfect. My last posted dish was a disaster and I don't want to humiliate myself again. =P Besides, I don't want to eat burned dinner. =P ( I was in the kitchen the whole time, brought my laptop while cooking, keeping an eye)

I have seen lots of Beef stroganoff versions. According to most of the recipes I found, the best mushroom to use is shiitake, it adds more flavor than any other mushroom. I tried going to a local store nearby but they don't sell shiitake mushrooms, so I just used button mushrooms.

Some uses creme fraiche and some just sour cream. Some recipe has dry white wine however, the recipe calls for a little bit of sugar, so I thought why not just use sweet white wine (i bet, there must be a reason for that). But well, my instinct tells me to use sweet white wine (I want to drink a sweet wine not dry one, if there's anything left =) so there ). Other recipes have tomato paste and some don't. They say the real Russian Beef Stroganoff has a hint of tomato but mainly it has a white sauce base. Now, I'm confused. So I thought...why don't I mix it all up, a little bit of everything and see how it goes.

Verdict: It was absolutely delish! =) yey

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound filet mignon sliced into strips
2 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 tbsp Butter
1 cup slice onions
3 cloves garlic minced
½ cup Sweet White wine
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups water
1 beef bouillon cube
1 pack mushroom soup (I know, but just try!)
dash of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz fresh mushrooms
1 cup crème fraiche
1/2 cup sour cream (topping)
chives chopped for garnish
linguine cooked al dente


Directions

Season the filet mignon strips with salt and pepper.
Fry on EVOO to brown over medium high heat. (a couple of minutes on each side) Set aside.
On the same pan, melt butter. Sauté onion for 2 minutes until translucent then add garlic and sauté 1 more minute.
Add the white wine, let it simmer. Then add the tomato paste. Mix well.
Pour in water and bring to a rolling boil. Add beef bouillon cube, a pack of mushroom soup, paprika, salt and filet mignon. Stir and return to boil. Simmer till fork tender adding water as needed.
Add mushrooms to cook. Lower the heat and stir in crème fraiche. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Spoon the dish over linguine cooked al dente. Top with sour cream and garnish with chopped chives.

How do you say happy eating in russian? =)