The way to a men’s heart….
…..is through his stomach; who doesn’t know the verdict? That certainly applies to Mr G.; growing up in a culinary, Belgian family he knows good food. You can imagine that sets the bar high for me; we might share the love for cooking and eating but more than once our opinions differ when it comes to what’s eventually served for dinner….
Mr G. travels a lot for his work; about half of the month I can eat what I want;-). He happens to be in Amsterdam for three whole weeks and I can tell you that is quite a challenge in terms of dinner… The first week I can get away with simple pasta or noodles, but to eat those three weeks in a row? So it’s time to expand the repertoire; fortunately my tikka masala was already well received!
A good piece of meat with fried potatoes is always appreciated, so in a nostalgic mood I decided to make stroganoff sauce. With vodka, of course; that just had to be a good idea for Mr G., right?
Classically, this sauce is eaten with steak; I served it with a good organic shoulder chop. Now I can hear you thinking, “shoulder chop? Isn’t that used for stews? “. No, it is slightly marbled and therefore very tasteful. With attention, a little patience and the following tips you can turn it into a delicious piece of grilled meat:
- Make sure the meat is to room temperature before you start baking. The pan cools down too quickly if you add cold meat, which makes it tough
- Pat the chops thoroughly before they go into the hot pan: too much moisture causes the meat to not sear fast enough
- First briefly sear over high heat, then cook on low heat
- Bake until just cooked, you need about 20 minutes
Shoulder chops are also attractive from a budget point of view, which makes it ideal for weekdays. My recipe for stroganoff sauce easily turns the chops into a delicious meal. Just ask Mr G.; he has feasted ;-).
Stroganoff sauce
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 125 gr of chestnut mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
- 1 red pepper (paprika), cut into strips or diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. of paprika powder
- 1/2 tsp. of chilli flakes
- good splash of vodka (or brandy)
- 1/2 can tomato paste (35g)
- 1/2 cube beef broth
- few drops Worcestershire sauce
- few drops of Tabasco
- salt and pepper
- 125 ml cream (I used Alpro Cuisine which makes the sauce lactose-free; I think this is really a surprisingly tasty and good alternative to whipped cream!)
Instructions
- Heat some oil in a (sauce) pan
- Fry the onion with the paprika powder and chilli flakes
- Add the sliced peppers, garlic and mushrooms and turn up the heat a little higher
- If the vegetables are just cooked: turn down the heat and put a lid on the pan. The mushrooms have a lot of moisture release allowing the vegetables to simmer until done
- After about 15-20 minutes the vegetables will be soft. Deglaze with a good dash of vodka, let it boil down for a few minutes
- Now add the tomato paste and the half stock cube, fry briefly to take the acidity of the tomato paste
- Add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper
- Add the cream the very last moment and heat well. If the sauce is too thick you add just a small splash of water
You can prepare this stroganoff sauce in advance and store in the fridge for later; if you’re using vegetable cream you could even freeze the sauce. We had some sauce left and in a little less nostalgic mood I decided to use it as a topping on my hamburger the next day: approved!
Do you have a delicious recipe that makes your love really happy? Leave your comment below; who knows it’s perfect for my “critical Mr G.” recipe repertoire!
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