BRAZILIAN STROGANOFF

BRAZILIAN STROGANOFF

#SIAintheKitchen

I had one of my Instagram followers come over to my place and cook me dinner last year. Romantic, right? Except I didn’t think it was a date and I had no idea what was going on until he tried to kiss me. Although it did not work out romantically, he did cook me an amazing traditional dinner of Brazilian beef stroganoff.

I wasn’t aware of the Brazilian version of stroganoff and after trying it that evening, I don’t think I will ever go back to making the Americanized version of it. They are wildly different and to me – they almost seem like two completely separate dishes. A few key differences:

• Brazilian – a creamy tomato-based sauce typically made with heavy cream, beef, onions and mushrooms, and served with white rice and shoestring fries or chips

• American – a creamy sauce consisting of beef broth, sour cream, beef, onions, mushrooms and served with egg noodles

Yeah – the only similarities I’m seeing here are the beef, onions, mushrooms. I’m not crazy.

Ever since I had tried Brazilian stroganoff, I have been dying to make my own version of it. This was only my first attempt and I think I can even make a better version of it – a higher cut of meat, perhaps grating the onions for a silkier texture in the sauce, dark ale or wine instead of water, using heavy cream instead of table cream… So much room for improvement.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you will most likely have a lot of this ingredients in your fridge. Typical household condiments like ketchup and mustard, cans of tomato paste, and onions are commonly kept in my kitchen – and hopefully yours too! I’m a fan of any recipe that can help use up leftover condiments in the fridge or that require me to buy minimal ingredients. Score!

Plus, chips. The Brazilian version of stroganoff is topped with CHIPS and/or shoestring fries in it. You know I’m a fan of chips for dinner… It may sound weird but don’t knock it until you try it! You may be converted to the Brazilian side.

BRAZILIAN BEEF STROGANOFF – serves 4

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

• ½ yellow onion, diced

• 1 lb stewing beef, diced

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• ½ tsp smoked paprika

• 1/3 cup tomato paste

• 1 cup half and half

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1/8 cup yellow mustard

• 1 cup water, as needed

• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• white rice

• 1 (300g) bag Hickory Sticks or other branded shoestring potato chips

1. Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add in the onions and saute until softened, about 3 minutes.

2. While the onions are sautéing, coat the beef in flour and season with the smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Add this into the skillet and stir to brown the meat.

3. Add in the tomato paste and slowly add in the cream as to not burn it. Stir in the ketchup and the mustard. The sauce should begin to thicken. Feel free to add in water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. At this point you may decrease the heat to medium.

4. Add in the mushrooms and cook until the size and shrunk in half. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve with white rice and a generous helping of shoestring potato chips or fries.