Beef stroganoff with penne pasta

Davide Zerilli

Stroganoff is a classic of sautéed beef pieces from Russia, which has become popular around the globe with considerable variation. You can’t go past a super tasty Stroganoff for a quick and complete dinner that takes no time to throw together. I have added my variation to the penne tossing through lemon zest and paprika to give it a kick. This is so good you’ll have them coming back for more.

The pasta

500 g	Penne pasta (Main)
2 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp	Melted butter
¼ tsp	Smoked paprika
½	Lemons, zest only

The beef

600 g	Beef rump steaks (Main)
4 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp	Butter
1	Diced onion
300 g	Button mushrooms, sliced (Main)
4 Tbsp	Brandy
100 ml	Beef stock
2 Tbsp	Tomato paste
1 tsp	Smoked paprika, plus extra to garnish
¼ tsp	Black pepper
½ tsp	Salt
250 ml	Cream
200 ml	Sour cream
2 Tbsp	Chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook following packet instructions. Meanwhile, in a bowl add olive oil, butter, paprika and lemon zest and stir to combine. When pasta is cooked, drain and toss in olive oil mixture. Keep warm until ready to serve.
2. Finely slice steak in strips then cover and allow to reach room temperature. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat then add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add onion and sauté for 4–5 minutes, or until soft but without adding colour to onion. Add mushrooms and cook for a further 3–4 minutes. Transfer mushroom and onion mix along with any juice to a bowl.
3. Clean frying pan and add remaining olive oil and butter. Place over high heat and ensure butter/oil combination is very hot (you do not want to stew the steak strips). Flash-fry steak strips in batches for 30–50 seconds then transfer to bowl of mushrooms and onions. Once all steak strips have been cooked, add brandy to pan and cook over medium heat until reduced by approximately half. This takes about 1-2 minutes. Add stock, tomato paste, paprika, pepper and salt and simmer for 2 minutes whilst stirring with a wooden spoon. Add cream and sour cream, mix to combine then simmer for 3 minutes, or until creamy sauce consistency. Add mushrooms, onions and cooked beef strips. Bring to the boil to reheat mushrooms and steak, adjusting seasoning if necessary.
4. Pour stroganoff over pasta on one large serving platter or divide between serving plates. Garnish with parsley and a pinch of smoked paprika.