Strogan-off my chops.

In my humble opinion, mushrooms should be removed from life. Banished from Planet Earth. In the bin. Gone. Cheerio!

So it came as a huge surprise when I made beef stroganoff for Paul and it was straight-up delish. I made myself a version that swapped out the mushrooms for red pepper and peas. Then I got 80% of my stomach removed and the idea of making a whole separate version for me to be full after about 4 bites seemed pointless. Cool story, bro.

Anyway, beef stroganoff is a classic Russian dish consisting of sautéed pieces of beef served in a creamy sauce with onions and mushrooms, typically served over rice. It's a comforting and hearty meal that has become popular worldwide for its rich and savoury taste. The sauce covers a world of sins, so it’s a good way of sneaking veggies into meals too.

I coat the beef and fry it off, then finish it off in the sauce as it makes it super tenderoni.

Beef Stroganoff (makes 2-4 portions depending on how greedy you are)

Ingredients:

• 750g beef (I use 2 medallion steaks and 5 of the cheap thin steaks and cut them into strips)

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 heaped tsp cornflour

• olive oil (couple of glugs)

• knob of butter

• 1 big onion, chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• a punnet of mushrooms, sliced (dealer’s choice, Paul likes Chestnut and button)

• 1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard

• 750ml beef stock

• 150g sour cream

Method

1. First up: beef! Cut your beef into 1cm wide strips. Throw in a bowl and put on a glug of olive oil, salt and pepper and toss it altogether to coat. Add in the bicarbonate of sofa and cornflour and toss to coat the beef. Set aside while you get everything else organised.

2. At this point I get my rice organised. I wash it, steep it for 30 minutes then boil/steam for 10 minutes each but each to their own like.

3. Chop the onions, mushrooms and garlic and stick in a bowl until you’re ready for them. Get your stock made up, your mustard and sour cream out and you’re prepared for EVERYTHING.

4. In a big pan heat a big glug of oil. Add the beef in a single layer and fry for 2-3 minutes, turn and do the same not he other side. You might need to do a couple of batches. Remove from the pan and keep in a bowl while you get everything else done.

5. Once the beef is done and set aside, add a big knob of butter to the pan and some more olive oil then add the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Add in a decent pinch of salt and pepper and fry off for around 5 minutes until everything gets soft.

6. Add in the mustard and stir through then return the beef to the pan and mix everything together.

7. Add in the stock and bring to a simmer. Let it bubble away, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes while your rice cooks.

8. Add in the sour cream and stir through. If it’s not thick enough for your liking throw in a cornflour slurry! Let it come together for another minute.

9. By this point your rice is done, your ‘noff is ready and you’re about to have a glorious time. Sprinkle with parsley, chives or nothing at all. Enjoy!

NB, Paul’s a quarter Russian so you might say this isn’t the only Russian dish I enjoy eeehehehehe. On our first date he asked me what my favourite drink was and I told his it’s a White Russian. He giggled and told me “i’m a white russian!” and I was like SOUND.