EASY BEEF STROGANOFF RECIPE

This recipe doesn’t use very much cream – some recipes use up to twice the amount that I suggest here, but you really don’t need that much. I use organic cream, which has a much better flavour and also contains useful Omega-3s, also found in oily fish, which are not present in non-organic cream.

If you are very keen to keep your fat consumption down, you can substitute a half-fat cream or cream substitute. You’ll still end up with a lovely smooth sauce. To make your meal healthier, serve this easy beef stroganoff recipe with wholegrain rice or bulgar wheat, and a green vegetable. Lightly steamed broccoli is good, or try purple sprouting broccoli.

Serves 4 Take 700g (1 ½ lb rump steak), trim off any fat, and slice thinly. This is easier if you put the meat in the freezer for an hour first, to make it firmer. Beat the steak slices with a rolling pin or meat mallet, then cut into thin strips. Toss the strips in 3 tbsp flour. Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, and cook the meat for about 5 minutes until nicely browned. Add 1 thinly sliced onion and 225g (2 cups) sliced button mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in 5 fl oz soured cream (or use ordinary cream with a dash of lemon juice), stir through to heat, season with pepper and serve.

Variation To make a beef goulash, add 1 ½ tbsp paprika or smoked paprika to the flour before coating the meat. When the meat is browned, tip in 500g (1 ½ cups) canned chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil then simmer gently for 1 hr. Stir in soured cream as above to serve.