My Version of Beef Stroganoff

It was a bit miserable and cold yesterday, and I had gotten some beef blade steak out the day or so before, so it was perfect casserole comfort food weather.   I decided to make a stroganoff from scratch, because there was a can of sliced mushrooms in the pantry that has been annoying me for ages (I couldn't think how I was going to use it) and also because it was the only recipe I found online that specifically stated using beef blade steak.  I didn't want to cook it wrong and have tough meat... nobody likes that!  However, the recipe I found seemed a bit boring and bland, so I based my casserole off it, but I added a few other things that I found had been written in other stroganoff recipes.  

So really, my version of beef stroganoff is a combination of several recipes, plus a little improvising from myself.  I was a little unsure about how it would turn out, but it was actually quite nice.  We ate it with rice and fresh steamed broccoli.

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS

400g beef blade steak, diced

2 onions, sliced

1 x small can of sliced mushrooms (in sauce, but I removed most of the excess sauce)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon paprika

1 & 1/4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 carrot, diced small

2 medium potatoes, diced small

sprinkle of onion salt or garlic salt

frozen peas (quantity up to you!)

bay leaf (optional, can be added to sauce)

dried thyme (optional, can be added to sauce)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons cornflour mixed w 2 tablespoons cold water (to thicken, at the end)

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C
• Place diced beef, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots in a casserole dish
• In a separate jug, mix vegetable stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, onion/garlic salt, garlic and paprika together
• Pour the sauce mixture over the meat and vegetables, and stir through to make sure it's all through
• Cover and cook for 1 & 1/2 hours in the oven (or until meat is tender), stirring once or twice during cooking, and tasting the sauce at least once, so seasoning can be adjusted if needed
• When almost ready to serve, mix through cornflour to thicken the sauce, and add sour cream
• Add frozen peas, stand for 2 minutes to allow the casserole to heat the peas through, and serve!

Goes beautifully with rice for a lighter meal, or mashed potato for real winter comfort food!!  Can also be served over pasta.  And if you don't have sour cream on hand, don't panic!  Normally when making stroganoff (out of a packet) we leave out the sour cream and it's still delicious!

I know I kinda blurred the line here a little bit between stroganoff (mushroom based, usually no carrots or potatoes) and Hungarian goulash (which traditionally has potatoes and carrots in it) but I just felt like the dish needed something a little extra, vegetable-wise, and the peas added at the end gave it a nice bit of greenery (along with the steamed broccoli) and freshness.

Recipe Inspiration: http://www.foodinaminute.co.nz/Recipes/Beef-Stroganoff