All this cooking out of Dorie Greenspan’s “Around My French Table” with the French Fridays with Dorie group and baking out of “Baking with Julia” with the Tuesdays with Dorie group has inspired me to make better use of all of my cookbooks and the foodie magazines that I subscribe to and actually make the recipes that I so carefully mark for future reference.
One of the cookbooks that I have loved from seeing the cover on Amazon.com to the two recipes that I have made out of it to-date, got me considering other recipes within it so I went with beef stroganoff!
I had been craving beef stroganoff since high school.
High school you say??
Why YES!
And let me tell you, it has been a few years since then and no, I have not had beef stroganoff since then.
Yup.
You read correctly! It has been YEARS!! Although I won’t tell you how many years…
The thing about Thomas Keller, whose recipe out of “Ad Hoc” we used is that the recipes are always successful and daringly delicious but they take TIME. These are not recipes for those days where you have been working late and rushing home to make a meal. They are better suited for a slow Sunday, to be shared with the ones you love. Since a lot of love goes into each and every step of the dish.
That being said – this is a pretty smashing recipe for beef stroganoff!
The husband unit thought that it was a bit too rich on the first day and really enjoyed it for lunch the next day after the flavors had really melded together. Either way, it is definantly a keeper recipe!
Something that I truly adore about Thomas Keller’s recipes are the adaptability of them and the flow. For instance, this recipe is meant to be made with leftover braised short ribs which is the recipe that precedes the stroganoff recipe, but in a pinch, you can put in any leftover beef you have or sear off your favorite cut of beef and use it for this meal. I have never seen a cookbook that uses recipes that come in earlier (or later) pages and incorporates them into a different recipe in the same book – it is certainly something that I would like to see more of in cookbooks.
All that said, this is certainly a must-make meal and one that anyone could fall in love with – we will certainly be making this again and again!
P.S. this does get better with some age, so making it a day ahead of time will really allow the flavors to meld together and become something truly amazing! Or better yet, make double of what you think you would like! Just be sure to reserve more pasta water to rehydrate the sauce, if it is too thick for your liking.
Ingredients: adapted from Thomas Keller’s “Ad Hoc”
Cream Sauce
- 1 pound cremini or white mushrooms, trimmed and cut in 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup chopped onion
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 sachet*
- 1/3 cup creme fraiche
Mushrooms
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 pound cremini or white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Steak
- use leftover beef short-ribs taken off the bone, or other steak recipe. If you have no leftover beef/steak then cook 1 lb of your favorite steak to medium-rare or desired doneness then cube.
Other ingredients
- Pappardelle noodles, homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Gray salt or coarse sea salt
*Sachet
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 10 black peppercorns
Lay out a 7-inch square of cheesecloth. Put the bay leaf, theyme and peppercorns near the bottom of the square and fold the bottom edge up and over them. Roll once, tuck in the two ends of the cheesecloth, and continue to roll. Tie the cheesecloth at both ends with kitchen twine.
Working in a couple of batches, process the mushrooms for the sauce in a food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary, until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped mushrooms, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour in the cream, add the sachet, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to keep the cream at a simmer and simmer for about 35 minutes, until the cream is reduced by about one-third and infused with the mushroom flavor.
Meanwhile, set a cooling rack over a baking sheet and line the rack with paper towels. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the canola oil and heat until the butter melts. Add half of the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, without stirring (if you toss or move the mushrooms too early, they will steam rather than brown), for about 3 minutes, until the first side is golden brown. Turn the mushrooms and cook for another minute or two, until golden brown. Transfer to the lined baking sheet to drain and cook the remaining mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil.
Let the meat sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
When the sauce is ready, discard the sachet, pour the sauce into a blender, and blend until smooth. Strain the sauce into a medium saucepan, set over medium-low heat, and stir in the creme fraiche until incorporated. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the sauteed mushrooms, and add the remaining mushrooms to the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The sauce will be on the thick side. Keep warm on the back of the stovetop over very low heat.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Meanwhile, PREPARE THE STEAK.
Add the pappardelle to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 2 to 4 minutes if fresh. Reserve a cup of the cooking water, and drain the pasta. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the butter.
If necessary, reheat the cream sauce over low heat. Reheat the reserved sauteed mushrooms in a small pan.
Toss the noodles with the cream sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add a bit of the reserved cooking water to thin. (The cooking water will have some starch in it from the pasta and will maintain the silkiness of the sauce while thinning it.) Add half of the sauteed mushrooms to the noodles and arrange them on a platter. Arrange the short ribs/steak cubes and the remaining mushrooms on the top. Sprinkle with salt and garnish with parsley.
