My mother found the original recipe on a can of Campbells® Tomato Soup in 1957. It’s been a bit modified since then.
Ingredients (as organic and free-range as possible)
- 1 pound round steak (the cheapest cut you can find)
- ¼ cup sprouted all purpose flour (organic)
- ½ teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt (ground fine)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter (organic)
- 1 medium onion, chopped (½ cup)
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
- dehydrated mushrooms
- 1 cup sour cream (did I mention organic?)
- 1 can Amy’s Organic Cream of Tomato Soup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (some like 2 tbls)
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- extra Celtic Sea Salt and black pepper to taste
Notes & Directions
In Russia, stroganoff is made from leftover beef, so the quality of the cut doesn’t matter, but as always, free-range and local is the best because it supports small farmers who care about the land and the meat isn’t toxic.
The first thing you’ll want to do is rehydrate your mushrooms in filtered water and some (about a teaspoon) of Celtic Sea Salt. We give you the option of using as many mushrooms as you like. When we made this, we used both maitake and shiitake mushrooms. The original recipe called for a can of mushrooms (packed in water) and I haven’t used one of those in over 40 years.
You will use some of the water to make the initial gravy (read on).
The flour is used to create a gravy when browning the beef. Cut up the beef into small chunks/strips, and dust them in the flour, salt, and black pepper.
Mince the garlic (again, you chose how much you want depending on your taste) and put aside, then chop up the onion. We like red onions because of the colorful phytochemicals.
Melt the butter in a deep frying pan and toss in the onions, cook just a bit, add the meat coated in flour, stir and brown for about three minutes, and then add your mushrooms and enough water to start a thick gravy. Stir and cook for about five minutes, and then add the garlic. Fold in the sour cream, Amy’s tomato soup, and two tablespoons of organic Worcestershire sauce.
About Worcestershire Sauce
First, we try to use organic ingredients because many of our readers have chemical sensitivities. Amy’s soups will be much less toxic than most brands of soups that come from factory farming. And we found that Wild Harvest Worcestershire sauce tastes the closest to the original from Lea & Perrins, and does not contain anchovies (which can be an allergen to some). But when it comes to Worcestershire Sauce, Lea & Perrin’s is the best, the best tasting.
Final Direction
Stir everything together, bring it to a bubble, and then back to low and let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half (stir occasionally). At this time you may make your noodles or rice, however, I’ve never liked this on noodles. And we always use black rice in my kitchen, unless we’re making sushi.
When ready to serve, chop up some chives, sprinkle on top, and serve over your rice or noodles. Bring some extra salt to the table. Some like it with a bit more salt. And most of all: Enjoy.
Recipes on the Web
It would seem that most cooks are frustrated writers, while some are frustrated photographers. When you find a recipe you have to read their life story, about how they were travelling through Tuscany when they found a tomato alongside the road . . . followed by 17 pictures of that damn tomato.
I’ve found a site called Just Recipes, which was a breath of fresh air. I am a writer, and when I write about a recipe, I write about its health benefits, focusing on the ingredients, the phytochemicals, etc. In this case, we’re not dealing with the healthiest recipe in your cookbook. But everyone needs a go-to “OMG this is so good” recipe once in a while, and this is one of them.
Years ago I actually made it for a Russian gal who told me the whole time we were cooking, “That’s not beef stroganoff.” Every time I chopped something or cut something and added it to the recipe: “That’s not beef stroganoff.”
And serving it over rice? “That’s not beef stroganoff.”
But tasting it, her eyes lit up: “That’s not beef stroganoff. But it’s really good!”
And yes, I’m a photographer, but I’m not going to waste my time taking pictures of food. When it comes to food and it’s health values or it’s scrumptiousness, as we say in the cooking world, “The proof is in the pudding.”
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