Beef Stroganov

They say that at the end of the 19th century, Alexander Stroganov, an aristocrat from a well established old Russian family, gave his name to this well-known Russia dish of beef and onions. The recipe is written in hundreds of cookbooks and one of these is “The Practical Encyclopedia of Eastern European Cooking” from 1999, found in London 6 years ago and of course tried once. I decided to write this recipe because this is the original, not the liver Stroganoff I wrote some weeks ago, which is just a version. A very tasty one but not the original. Plus, I thought of lingering in Russia for a bit. It is a wonderful country that my parents visited 22 years ago and spend the Romanian Revolution in Moscow. I remember how difficult it was for them to leave Romania as tourists, even for a communist country. But they succeeded after weeks of antechamber and left just before the Revolution started. When they returned, Ceausescu was no more but they saw Russia and they were really impressed. That is why I would love to see it myself, all of it, if possible. And there was another thing that I loved about Russia: the butter. My parents told me that there was butter with every meal. And this is like paradise to me. I loved butter since I was in my mother’s womb and I suffered I couldn’t have it as often as I would have liked it. In those times, there was hardly any butter on the market and I would buy it with a ticket…half of pack a months per person. This is a very strong reason to love Russia and want to visit it, for the buutter of it. :)) I would have butter 3 times a day! Isn’t it fantastic? 😉

Now that I have established my reasons of going there, let’s see how the Russian aristocrats of the 19th-20th century ate.

Beef Stroganov

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 450 g (1 lb) fillet or rump steak, trimmed
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sunflower oil
• 25 g (1 oz/ 2 tbsp) unsalted butter (80-82% fat)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) plain flour
• 5 ml (1 tsp) tomato purée
• 5 ml (1 tsp) Dijon mustard (or just plain mustard if you don’t have Dijon)
• 5 ml (1 tsp) lemon juice (squeeze a lemon, do not cheat with that awful lemon juice in a bottle)
• 150 ml (1/4 pint/ 2/3 cup) soured cream
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• fresh herbs, to garnish

Method:

• Place the steak between 2 oiled sheets of clear film or in a plastic bag. Gently beat with a rolling pin to flatten and tenderize the meat. Cut it into thin strips about 5 cm, 2 in long.
• Heat the remaining oil and half the butter in a frying pan and fry the beef over a high heat for 2 minutes, or until browned. Remove the strips of beef from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving any juices behind.
• Melt the remaining butter in the pan and gently fry the onion for 10 minutes, until soft.
• Sprinkle over the flour, and stir it in, followed by the tomato purée, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and soured cream. Return the beef to the pan and stir until the sauce is bubbling.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, and then serve immediately, garnished with fresh herbs, with deep-fried potato chips.

Bon appetite!

Mama Rusia

Daca tot am ajuns in Rusia cu descoperirea culinara, eu mai zabovesc putintel pe aici. E o tara superba pe care mi-as dori din tot sufletul sa o vizitez. Are ceva aparte, ca de altfel toate tarile si culturile lumii dar o simt mai calda. Poate si pentru ca parintii mei au vizitat-o acum 21 de ani, cand i-a prins Revolutia in Moscova si au venit incantati de acolo. Cat de greu au reusit sa iasa din Romania pe vremea lui Ceausescu, cu aprobari si anticamere, asta nu mai conteaza. Conteaza ca au facut una din cele mai frumoase excursii ale lor si asta nu se uita niciodata. Ce mi-a atras mie in special atentia din ce mi-au povestit: faptul ca rusii servesc unt de trei ori pe zi. Daca asta nu raiul pe pamant pentru mine, atunci ce e? Ok, ok, ar mai fi si altele dar pasiunea mea pentru unt e dinainte sa ma nasc. Pentru ca mama numai unt putea manca la sarcina. Altceva nu primeam. Ca sa vezi ce mofturoasa am fost, unborn yet. ;))

Plus orasele, oamenii, bisericile, metroul din Moscova, teatrul de balet, etc. Mai multe stiu despre Europa Vestica si civilizatia occidentala pentru ca a stiut sa se faca mai cunoscuta dar cu cat un loc e mai necunoscut, cu atat incantarea e mai mare de ceea ce descoperi. Iar Rusia este un taram fascinant. Raman si azi pe aici cu o reteta celebra pe care am facut-o tot o data in viata, la Londra, reteta care are legatura cu reteta precendenta, ficat Stoganoff, care e de fapt o variatie a vitei Stroganov. Cartea de unde am luat-o se numeste “The practical Encyclopedia of Eastern European Cooking” din 1999.

Povestea acestei retete spune ca la sfarsitul  secolului al XIX-lea, baronul Alexander Stroganov a dat numele sau acestui fel de mancare cu vita si ceapa si smantana si a fost unul din felurile principale cu care isi delecta oaspetii. Multumita lui Wikipedia, am aflat ca familia Stroganov a fost de origine umila dar si-a castigat statutul aristocratic, de-a lungul secolelor, prin afacerile reusite pe care le-a facut. A construit biserici, a finantat campanii militare, a detinut functii importante in timpul tarilor, a infiintat institute si palatul familiei, acum parte a Muzeului Rus de Stat, este unul dintre locurile care trebuie vizitate in Sankt Petersburg. Eu l-am trecut deja pe lista.

Dupa atata istorie, mi s-a facut foame. Iata cum se manca acum cateva secole in Rusia la mesele aristocratilor:

Vita Stroganov

4 portii

Ingrediente:

• 450 g muschi  sau pulpa de vita
• 15 ml (1 lingura) ulei
• 25 g (2 linguri) unt nesarat (80-82% grasime)
• 1 ceapa, feliata
• 18 ml (1 lingura) faina
• 5 ml (1 lingurita) piure rosii (sau sos de rosii)
• 5 ml (1 lingurita) mustar Dijon (daca nu ai, e in regula, foloseste mustar obisnuit, dar ii schimba putin gustul)
• 5 ml (1 lingurita) suc de lamaie (nu gata facut in sticla, ia o lamaie si stoarce-o)
• 150 ml (2/3 masura) smantana grasa
• sare
• piper negru proaspat macinat
• patrunjel pentru decorat

Preparare:

• Aseaza bucata de carne intre doua bucati de folie, unse cu ulei. Bate usor cu sucitorul ca sa inmoi carnea si apoi tai-o in fasii subtiri de cca 5 cm lungime.
• Incalzeste restul de ulei si jumatate din unt intr-o tigaie mare si mai inalta si prajeste carnea la foc mare cca 2 minute sau pana se coloreaza toata. Scoate-o din tigaie, avand grija sa o strecori bine de ulei.
• Adauga si restul de unt in tigaie si prajeste ceapa la foc mic, cca 10 minute, pana se inmoaie.
• Adauga apoi faina, amestecand continuu, apoi piure-ul de rosii, mustarul, sucul de lamaie si smantana. La final adauga si vita si lasa sa dea in clocot. Acum e momentul sa adaugi sarea si piperul.
• Serveste imediat, cu cartofi prajiti. Pentru un aspect frumos, decoreaza cu cateva frunze de patrunjel.

Pofta buna!