Beef Stroganoff

Last month I heard so many different languages while David and I were sitting at the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) airport waiting for our departure to Puerto Vallarta. I’ve always liked going to airports as there’s a lot of action going on… people coming and going, travelling for business or pleasure. Long or short trips, everyone seems in a rush to catch their flights. When I look at the flight board, I daydream about all the places I can go and visit someday… yes I’m an adventurous dreamer! You should see my “bucket list”…

There are a lot of places that I find quite intriguing and one of them is definitely Russia. With its fabulous points of interest such as Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Winter Palace, The Kremlin, Lake Baikal, Hermitage Museum, Peterhof Palace, Stroganov Church, the famous Red Square and so on, this is a place I really want to go! It is a huge country with 11 (eleven) time zones, shares borders with 14 different countries and more than 160 different ethnic groups. Russia brings a vast cultural diversity with an enriched, complex history and deep folkloric traditions.

The month I’d like to go there would have to be in July because I can clearly say that I wouldn’t be able to handle the weather during its cold months unless I hang out in Sochi by the Black Sea coast… On the other hand, there’s one of its traditional dishes that I can definitely handle all year round and it is Beef Stroganoff! World famous, this is a lovely meal to enjoy; sautéed beef strips in a creamy mustard sauce and sour cream… it is incredibly delicious!

Beef Stroganoff has been in their culture since the 19th century but since its first appearance outside of  Russian borders, the recipe has many different variations depending on the country that’s making it. Now I’m sure that my version is also quite different and westernized from the original but noneless it is very delicious! By preference, I use red wine instead of white,I don’t use paprika but I’m not shy on the mustard and I do use mushrooms and onions as well which are 2 ingredients that are not from the original version. In this recipe I use sour cream but the real deal would be to use crème fraîche which I will eventually post my recipe to how to make it. I like to serve the meat and sauce over a bed of buttered egg noodles. It is such a great comfort food recipe that I enjoy making often.

Obviously going to Russia I would definitely order Beef Stroganoff (бефстроганов befstróganov) so I can enjoy the “real thing”. In the meantime, I’ll keep making my version of it until I’m sitting at my gate waiting to board the plane to Moscow!
Bon Appétit!… – Хороший аппетит!

 

For ingredient amounts and much more, visit http://clubfoody.com/recipe/beef-stroganoff/