Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff with Pilaff Rice

Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff with Pilaff Rice

Now that we are into March the weather here is quite changeable, not that we can complain really it has been pretty good here for most of the past few weeks. As a cook I’ve been pleased to see colder spells as I can cook hot, long-cooked and deeply savoury dishes to warm, nourish and comfort when it’s cold outside.

I saw Rachel Allen make this dish on TV in January, and it’s taken me a while to get round to it, but I’m glad I did. I had actually been looking at the recipe for it in her third book Rachel’s Favourite Food at Home for a year or so, but as the recipe reads, there is not really that much liquid in it, and we like gravy, so I was torn. Had I not actually seen her make it and seen for myself that there is plenty sauce I’d still be just looking at it.

It is a gorgeous savoury beef stew with the added bonus of mushrooms and a divine sauce, and the rice just compliments it so well. Rachel did her pilaff with kale in it, but I gave that bit a miss and did some other green vegetables on the side. I’m keeping this one up my sleeve for entertaining friends! It’s not cheap to make, but we thought it was worth it once in a while for a lovely treat.

I don’t always brown the meat, just toss it around a bit, and it’s just as good I think. I sometimes also add in a bit more roux depending on who it eating it. I’ve cut both the recipes in half, but double it up again for more people. The beef serves 5-6 and the rice 3-4, but this is what seems to work for us allowing for some seconds. The beef reheats well the next day too.

Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff with Pilaff Rice

From Rachel Allen's Rachel's Favourite Food at Home

Serves 5-6

250g mushrooms, sliced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 kg stewing beef, cut into 3cm cubes
75ml chicken or beef stock
1½ very large onions, sliced
2 to 3 garlic cloves, crushed
75ml white wine
100ml brandy
165ml single cream
1 ½ tbsp roux, (see below)

1.Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3.

2. Heat a large frying pan and lightly fry the mushrooms in batches in the olive oil until pale golden in colour. Tip onto a plate and set aside. Brown the meat in the same pan in small batches. When all the meat has browned, pour a small amount of the stock into the frying pan and bring to the boil to deglaze the pan and conserve the flavour.

3. Put a large flameproof casserole on the hob over a medium heat and pour the stock from the frying pan into it. Add the mushrooms, meat, sliced onions, garlic, wine, stock and brandy. Cover with the lid, transfer to the oven and cook for about 1-1 ½ hours, or until tender.

4. When the meat is cooked, strain the liquid into a saucepan. Add the cream and boil, uncovered, for a few minutes until it has a good flavour, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. With the liquid still boiling, add 2-3 teaspoons of the roux and whisk in until the juices have thickened slightly, adding more roux if necessary. Pour the sauce over the meat, stir and keep the stroganoff warm until you are ready to serve. Cook’s notes: to make a roux, stir equal quantities of butter and plain flour into a paste and cook for a few minutes on the hob. Use hot or cold.

Pilaf Rice
Servings: 3-4
25g butter
1 small onion, chopped
150g basmati rice
375ml chicken or vegetable stock

Method
1. In a large saucepan, melt half the butter, add the chopped onion, put on the lid and cook on a low heat until the onion is soft – about 10 minutes.

2. Add the rice and stir on the heat for about 2 minutes. Add the stock and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down as low as possible and simmer on top of the stove, or in an oven at 150C/ gas 2, for about 10 minutes, until the rice is just cooked and all the liquid absorbed. Cover and keep warm until needed.