Simply Stroganoff

posted February 25, 2007
  by Amy Powell, Real Meals In Minutes

There is a very definite possibility I will offend someone with this article. Not that I intend too. But it seems the subject of “stroganoff” is one that breeds deep beliefs and occasionally heated opinions on the authenticity of recipes.

I can only assume that stroganoff has engendered such passionate opinions for the same reason I was seeking out more knowledge on the recipe: its place as one of the top comfort foods of all time. Typically, it is a dish of beef braised in a sour cream based sauce and seasoned with mustard and paprika. Usually onions or shallots and mushrooms are included with the beef and the finished dish is served alongside cooked potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.

Beef stroganoff is originally Russian, created for the royals in the late 1800s. After the fall of Imperial Russia, the dish migrated to China where is it likely that American servicemen stationed there grew a taste for the braised beef dish and brought it back to America, resulting in its 1950s heyday in the States. The problems is, due to that unfortunate period of popularity in the '50s, stroganoff can now be associated with bad chafing dish dinner parties, and brown, lifeless food being served by apron-ed housewives. Beyond America, however, stroganoff made the international popularity circuit as it found a home, and its own version, in far-reaching countries like Sweden and Brazil.

My mother was never one for the chafing dish recipes, or the complacency of '50s housewives for that matter. So I can’t say I really had much exposure to the dish until I stumbled upon the Brazilian version on the menu of my friend’s restaurant in New York. Cream sauces were usually a bit too heavy for my occasionally sensitive stomach. But I was persuaded to give it a try. One bite and I knew that no dish in New York was ever going to make me feel more “at-home” in a restaurant. The Brazilian version, made classically but with a touch of tomato sauce, became a salve for my winter-chilled bones. It was the perfect dish to help me get through those last brutal weeks of winter holed up in my snowed-in apartment dreaming of sunnier California days.

The controversy in the preparation of the dish seems to come in any attempt to modernize it. Sifting through the online recipes, I was taken aback by some postings in response to a recipe that used cream instead of sour cream: responders vehemently condemned the dish insisting it could not rightfully be called stroganoff. Seeing as how internationally the versions of stroganoff differ, I don’t think I would be so quick to judge on the use of cream as a thickener over sour cream. But I might draw the line at some of these so-called “healthy” versions using cottage cheese (ugh) or canned salmon (really?).

My version is indeed a compromise between the modernizers of stroganoff and the classicists. I keep it authentic with the sour cream, mustard, and paprika, but swap out the longer braising and high cholesterol beef with chicken. And chicken is not exactly inauthentic as the Brazilians will make their Estrogonofe with either beef or chicken.

I hope I have managed not to offend the stroganoff lovers and have succeeded in intriguing a few skeptics into giving it a try. For indeed, if this food snob could find a place in her repertoire for this bit of Americana by way of Russia, China, and Brazil, then it just might be worth giving it a try yourself. You might find out what a century-worth of international hype is all about.

Chicken Stroganoff Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 6
Ready in: < 30 minutes

* 1/3 cup flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 5 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 6 ounces Button mushrooms
* 1 medium onion
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 2/3 cup sour cream
* 1/3 cup heavy cream
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* Additional salt and pepper
* 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
* Cooked white rice, egg noodles, or potatoes
* Minced gherkin pickles (optional)

Mix flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge chicken in flour and set aside. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Brown chicken on both sides until fairly cooked through. Remove to plate.

While chicken is cooking mince onion and roughly chop mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium, add butter to pan and stir in with chicken drippings until melted. Add mushrooms and onion to melted butter and saute for a few minutes until both begin to soften.

Meanwhile, transfer chicken to cutting board and chop into medium to small bits with a meat cleaver or chef's knife. Add chicken stock to mushrooms and onions along with chopped chicken. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

In a small bowl mix together sour cream, heavy cream, mustard, tomato paste (optional), and paprika. Add cream to chicken mixture and reduce heat slightly to medium high, bring to a simmer and cook for another five minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary with salt and pepper.

Chop parsley. Serve stroganoff with cooked white rice, noodles, or potatoes, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve chopped gherkins if desired.

©2008 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction of this article may be made without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.

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