Brainy Stroganoff ~ Its Whatever you like it to be...

Beef "Stroganov" is not Italian. It is a Russian dish of sauteed pieces of beef served in a sauce with sour cream. The original Russian version uses lightly floured beef cubes (not strips) sautéed and a sauce of mustard and beef bouillon and finished with a small amount of sour cream: no onions and no mushrooms.

Brainy Stroganoff means keeping it fast and frugal and yet adding an unexpected tasty twist. For this dish, you can use lean flank or sirloin beef steak or even round steak. And, if beef is not to your liking or budget, then use boneless pork or chicken. To begin, use either boneless pork loin or chicken thighs if you are not using beef, one onion, a few mushrooms, wide egg noodles, slivered almonds, butter as well as heavy cream and or sour cream.

Saute onion and mushrooms in 2 tbs of olive oil and coconut oil, with a dollop of butter on med. heat until browning edges appear. Push aside in the skillet and add the pork loin cut into thin medallions or sliced into strips. Brown the meat until white. Move the onion and mushrooms back in and pour in 1/2 cup or either heavy cream or watered down sour cream. Cover and simmer on low heat for 8-10 min, while you prepare the pasta.

Boil water for the amount of egg noodles 'wide egg or linguine pasta' you will need. Once tender, drain and ladle onto a low lipped serving plate, top with your Stroganoff, garnish with slivered almonds and fresh green parsley.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

*Beef stroganoff tip - follow the same cooking procedure using steak enriching the sauce with beef bouillon. For a clear rich brown sauce, omit cream and use only beef bouillon thickened with a small amount of corn starch.