Goal: Our mission was to marry tender meat with a flavorful sauce without tossing in every ingredient in the kitchen cupboard.

Solution: Choose beef tenderloin for superior texture. Sauté button mushrooms, then brown the beef in the same pan and deglaze the pan with beef broth. For more complexity, prepare a sauce with onion, tomato paste, brown sugar, chicken broth, and wine.

BEEF STROGANOFF
Serves 4

Sour cream can curdle if added directly to hot liquid. To prevent curdling, temper the sour cream by stirring a little of the hot liquid into it and then adding the warmed sour cream mixture to the pan. Buttered egg noodles (see below for details of our tasting) are the classic accompaniment to this recipe. Add noodles to boiling water at the same time the onion goes into the pan in step 4, so that the noodles and stroganoff will be done at about the same time.

11/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces white button mushrooms, wiped clean and halved if small, quartered if medium, cut into sixths if large
Salt and ground black pepper
3/4 pound beef tenderloin (about 2 filets), cut into 1/8-inch strips
1/2 cup canned low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
11/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup sour cream
8 ounces egg noodles, cooked in salted water, drained, and tossed with 2 tablespoons butter
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering, but not smoking, about 2 minutes; swirl to coat pan. Add mushrooms and cook over high heat without stirring for 30 seconds; season with salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are lightly browned, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer to medium bowl.
2. Return skillet to high heat, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil; swirl to coat pan. Place tenderloin strips in skillet. Using tongs, spread the meat into single layer, making sure that strips do not touch, and cook without turning until well-browned on first side, 2 minutes. Turn strips and cook on second side until well-browned, about 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to bowl with mushrooms.
3. Add beef broth to skillet, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom with wooden spoon; simmer until broth is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer broth to bowl with mushrooms and beef, scraping skillet clean with rubber spatula.
4. Return skillet to medium-low heat and add butter; when butter foams, add onion, tomato paste, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is lightly browned and softened, about 6 minutes; stir in flour until incorporated. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and wine; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, whisking occasionally, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Whisk liquid from mushrooms and beef into sauce and simmer to incorporate. Stir about 1/2 cup of hot sauce into sour cream, then stir mixture back into sauce. Add mushrooms and beef; heat to warm through, about 1 minute. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve over buttered egg noodles.

January, 2002

 
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