The Teaspoon: Fusilli Beef Stroganoff

By Diana

One of my favourite dishes when I was a child was Stroganoff -yes, I had a strong appetite for a little girl- and the reason why I knew then what Stroganoff was is because my Syrian grandma used to make the delicious Russian dish from time to time on Sundays, when we visited her. Although her Spanish was impeccable and I cannot question her Arabic, she never got right the name of the Siberian dish! When we arrived to the front door and asked her what was for lunch she replied proudly Astrogoal!!! an answer always followed by a loud collective laugh that for me -and I am sure that for all of us- it constituted the best moment of the day!

As all her recipes, her version of Stroganoff was exquisite but unfortunately she did not leave it in writing. The only thing I am sure about is that she used to mix the Stroganoff with fusilli - short pasta that in Venezuela we call little screws, in reference to its shape-. So after a week or so of research, and of digging into the reminiscences of my grandma's dish tastiness, I came up with an integration of recipes for Stroganoff that I am sharing here with you today! I can happily say that the recipe matches in 98% with the flavours of my childhood, and for me, that's all it takes! Enjoy!

Ingredients
Yield: serves 4

For the marinate
450 g sirloin steak (I used braising steak), cut into strips of about 2,5 x 2 cm
2 onions, cut into slices
1 carrot, cut into slices or cubes of about 1 cm
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon Paprika
350 ml white wine (cooking wine)
2 bay leaves, crushed
Sea salt
Black pepper, ground

For the Stroganoff

250 g fusilli -pasta-
2 tablespoons olive oil

60 g unsalted butter
1 onion
225 g fresh mushrooms, cut into slices
2 tablespoons Paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cognac (optional)
275 ml soured cream
Sea salt
Black pepper, ground
Fresh parsley

Preparation method

For the marinate place the beef strips in a large bowl. Incorporate the 2 onions cut into slices, crushed garlic cloves, carrot cubes and 2 tablespoons of Paprika. Add the crushed bay leaves and season generously with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix all the ingredients in the bowl. Finish with the white wine, which should be enough to cover all the ingredients. Cover your bowl with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for 12 hours or overnight.

Drain the meat using a drainer and set aside. Divide the marinade liquid in to parts and reserve (you will have 2 recipients with approximately 150 ml each).

Cook the fusilli in a pan of boiling water according to pack instructions. I added half of the reserved marinade liquid to the boiling water and salt to enhance the flavours. I cooked mine for about 10 minutes. Drain and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside.

Now add 20 g of butter to a large saucepan at medium heat, When the butter is melted sauté the onion finely sliced, until slightly brown (about 3-4 minutes). Place the onion in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the same saucepan again at medium heat and add another 20 g of butter and sauté the sliced mushrooms until slightly reduced and brown. Use a straining spoon to remove the cooked mushrooms out of the pan and incorporate them to the set aside bowl with the cooked onion.

Wipe the saucepan (when the mushrooms cook they tend to release water, which we won't need for this recipe). Now melt the last 20 g of butter in the saucepan at medium heat. Add now the drained meat, the Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of Paprika and sauté for about 6-10 minutes. If using cognac add it to the saucepan and flambé. Remove from the saucepan and set aside.

Now add the cooked onion and mushrooms previously set aside to the saucepan at medium heat. Incorporate 150 ml of the marinade liquid and the soured cream. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. When the sauce is thickened enough (it will take about 5-10 minutes), incorporate the cooked meat set aside and combine it well. Remove the saucepan from the heat.