Mushroom Stroganoff (Made Easy)

March 25th, 2019

Beef Stroganoff is a Russian dish (from the 19th century) of sautéed pieces of beef served in a rich sauce made from smetana (sour cream). At culinary school back in the 80's, I remember making this dish as part of my final exams on my City & Guilds 706/2 program.

Funny how we look back on the good old days and laugh, but at the time not so good, as you were stressed trying to get all your mise en place sorted out. Making sure you had your station set-up (oven turned on - you'd be amazed at how many student/chefs forget to turn on the oven until it's too late!) and the most important thing, making sure you hit your window on time for the chef instructor (judge) to critique your work.

Being a chef certainly sets you up for life as most of "the most important things in life" revolve around being prepared.

So prepare, to set yourself up for success with this easy to make mushroom stroganoff, let's think of this as a meatless Monday dish. It's meaty without having meat, creamy without adding a gallon of heavy cream and tastes incredible, enjoy.

Mushroom Stroganoff (Made Easy)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
5 cups low in sodium vegetable stock
2 cups brown rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 cups wild mushroom, cleaned and roughly chopped (I like using a mix of cremini, shiitake and for extra bite Portobello mushrooms)
1 teaspoon English mustard (or if you prefer Dijon mustard)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup crème fraiche
1 lemon, cut into six wedges
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make:
Place the rice into a large saucepan and pour over 4 cups of stock, place on the stove and bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed.

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat on the stove, add the oil, once hot add the onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft.
Add the garlic to the pan and continue to cook for 1 minute, then add the chopped mushrooms. Continue to cook gently for a 5 to 6 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and golden-brown.

Stir in the mustard, paprika and thyme then add the remaining 1 cup of stock, stirring as you pour. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked, remove the mushrooms from the heat, stir in the crème fraiche along with the juice of two lemon wedges and mix it all together. Taste and season as needed. Serve the stroganoff with the rice and the remaining wedges of lemon on the side.

Enjoy,
Chef Mark .