Better to have an excellent Beef Stroganoff at home than a mediocre one in a restaurant… the secret lies in the service à la minute.

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THE MAIN ARGUMENT  Reviving a dish that has unfortunately gone out of fashion, but undoubtably cuts a dash. Sauté the meat is a bit tricky but perfectly manageable – the key is to be quick and serve within seconds.

A BIT OF HISTORY The dish’s origin (as early as 18th century) is unknown. Count Stroganov, after whom it is named, lived in Odessa (Ukraine), but the recipe was immortalised by a French chef in St Petersburg… Be that as it may, by the 20th  beef Stroganoff had conquered the world. This recipe is a Zurich version – Tablonomie’s composite of the dish as prepared at the table by François, the excellent maître d’ of the famous Kronenhalle restaurant in the 1970s, and Elisabeth Fülscher’s recipe dating from 1923. Gault et Millau (1983) offer a very similar version, without mushrooms.

TABLONOMIE’S SIGNATURE : Flambé with cognac – for taste and panache!

GUILTY PLEASURE :  Serve Beef Stroganoff with rich homemade tajarin (divine Italian pasta). Tablonomie’s recipe is here (in French).

TIP : There’s no need to break the bank for fillet – but the beef must be of high quality.  Your butcher will advise. Never buy meat at the supermarket for this recipe.

Tricks: Place all the ingredients within easy reach before starting to cook.

To sear the beef, a heavy stainless steel sauté/frying pan /skillet will be useful.

INGREDIENTS:

• 600 g beef (fillet or other high-quality cut), cut into strips or cubes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 200 g champignons (button mushrooms)
• 2 large, ripe tomatoes
• 20g butter
• 40 g clarified butter
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 dl beef stock (homemade if possible)
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 1 to 2 tbsp cognac
• 1-2 pinches paprika and/or cayenne (mild or hot – your preference)
• 30 cl or more cream or sour cream
• q.s. lemon juice
• coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

PREPARATION (Beef Stroganoff – do it yourself !, STEP BY STEP) : SETTING UP:

1 Drop the tomatoes into boiling water to peel them. Remove the seeds and cut them into small cubes. Set aside. Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and slice.

2 Melt 20g of butter in a frying pan. Sauté onion and shallot over low heat, then add the mushrooms with salt and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the beef stock, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

3 In a skillet, heat the clarified butter to a very high temperature (180 to 200°C) and quickly sear the beef, flipping constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes, no more. Rapidly sprinkle with flour, flipping the meat for another 1 min. Add the cognac. Flambé (optional but excellent for flavour). Pull the pan aside, add cream to taste and stir.

4 Return to medium heat, let bubble up briefly, then add onion, shallot, tomato and mushrooms. Stir and allow the ingredients to warm, but do not allow any further boil. Sprinkle with paprika, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle with parsley (optional). Serve immediately on warm plates, with rice (or pasta – see note).

NOTE : Beef Stroganoff is traditionally served with white rice. This dish also is delicious with tajarin or tagliatelle.

WINE : A Beaujolais, particularly a Morgon (Domaine Lapierre is fantastic). A California Zinfandel. Or an excellent red Côtes du Rhône.

Inspiration: Das Fülscher-Kochbuch, 13th edition, Cham, 1995

Photo © c.m. 2023

L’article Beef Stroganoff – do it yourself ! est apparu en premier sur TABLONOMIE.

In cuisine, as anywhere in arts and science, we should strive to advance. We’re not talking about those colourful dots and dashes smeared on a plate, which try to pass off for sophisticated cuisine.  We’re talking about in depth work on recipes and their ingredients. This Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 is a perfect example.

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After banning mayonnaise a few years back, then boosting the quality of veal, capers and yoghurt,, we at Tablonomie thought we’d reached a plateau.  But voilà, here’s our Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 – recipe in English. Updated again, lighter and even more exquisite.

This year, we focused on the tuna. Whereas previously, the recipe specified canned tuna, sous-vide fresh tuna significantly enriches its taste and increases the share of fresh ingredients to almost 100 percent.

You’ll require a pan which can accommodate the veal, a sous-vide cooker and a food processor. A slicer makes for neat presentation but is not essential.

INGREDIENTS

For the meat :

• 900 g veal loin. Be sure to ask your butcher for fat-free, sinew-free meat!
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• a bouquet garni
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk
• half an onion
• a few chives
• a few sprigs of thyme
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• two sheets of parchment paper and some string

For sauce and decoration:

• 200 g fresh, sustainably fished tuna steak from a trustworthy fishmonger. Albacore is not overfished
• sea salt and, if available, MSG
• veal stock from the previous day (see below)
• extra-virgin Italian olive oil
• ca. 200 g unsweetened Greek yoghurt
• 50g organic capers with salt only, rinsed (available online here or here and from good grocers)
• 2-3 pinches of Modernist Fish spice mix
• salt, freshly ground pepper
• 50 g caper berries, rinsed. Or use caper leaves (optional, for decoration)
• slices of lemon or orange (optional, to garnish)

PREPARATION (Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 – recipe in English, STEP BY STEP)

1 The day before, carefully clean celery, carrot and onion (do not peel). Chop coarsely. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to boil, then add the vegetables, the bouquet garni and the wine. Let it simmer for around 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lay down a double layer of parchment paper and place the meat in the middle. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chives and thyme. Fold  the parchment paper and tie well.

2 Lower the meat into the pan and gently simmer for around 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a good hour in the stock. Lift the ‘parcel’ out without unwrapping it, drain on a wire rack and cool completely. Leave in the fridge overnight. Keep the pan stock in the fridge as well.

3 Ahead of serving, brine the tuna for 15 minutes in cold water with 5% sea salt (or, better still, 4.5% salt and 0.5% MSG), rinse and drain. Coat it with a thin layer of olive oil, salt, pepper and 2-3 pinches of Fish spice mix. Place in a sous-vide bag and insert into your sous-vide bath. Cook for approximately 45 minutes @ 54°C – the tuna needs to be well done*. Let it to cool completely, out of the bag but covered.

4 Blend the capers, break up the tuna up and add to the blender. Add veal stock in small doses, blending until you obtain a paste. Pour in one or two tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer this paste to a bowl and gently stir in the yoghurt, one tablespoon at a time. Mix by hand, with a spatula – the paste will turn into a fairly thick sauce. Continue to carefully incorporate yoghurt, stock and oil until you reach your preferred consistency. Season.

5 Unwrap the meat and slice. Set thickness according to preference. Arrange on a serving dish or directly on plates, coat generously with sauce and decorate with citrus slices as well as a few caper berries or caper leaves. Serve the remaining sauce separately.

*Approx. 15 min. per cm of thickness

TIP  Careful when incorporating veal stock and Greek yoghurt : only small quantities at a time – this will prevent the sauce from becoming too runny, as you won’t be able to correct. That’s why we use Greek yoghurt, which, by nature, is strained.

NOTES

• Serve on its own as a starter. As a main course, serve with risoni (or tajarin,  if you’re willing to compromise your diet ! ). Long-grain rice will also work well.
• The leftover stock makes excellent veal stock. Reduce and freeze.
• You can easily double the ingredients for the sauce. Should there be any left, serve over slices of grilled eggplant.
• The salt for the brine dissolves faster if added to warm water. Leave to cool.

WINE

White wine from Piedmont, where Vitello Tonnato hails from: a Gavi or a Roero Arneis .  Available online or at your local Italian grocer.  Unoaked Chardonnay or lager are alternatives. If you prefer a red wine, Barbera is a perfect match.

Tableware: Secla Portugal plates.

This recipe – though published previously in April 2021, 2022 and 2024 – has been substantially modified.

Photo © c.m. 2022

L’article Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 – recipe in English est apparu en premier sur TABLONOMIE.