Eastern Europe is one of my favorite nooks of the world. Growing up I was always requesting this dish over and over again, but of course now I have completely veganized it! This meal takes all of 25 minutes and I swear if you close your eyes, you are going to be transported cute cafe on the Baltic Sea.
History of Stroganoff
Would you believe that the famous Russian dish is actually French fusion? In the 1800s, the Russian aristocrat Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov brought a French chef back to Russia. He then created this now famous dish specifically because of his employers terrible teeth. His teeth were so god awful teeth that they sought a tender beef dish that was easy for him to chew. Stroganoff flooded through Russia rather quickly and eventually the world.
French Twist
There’s a gazillion ways to be creative with this popular European dish. If you are feeling more of a French influence for dinner tonight, maybe consider a few extra ingredients to add in this stroganoff. The original beef stroganoff dish contains dijon- a popular French ingredient.
- White Wine
- Thyme
- Dijon
Creating a Roux
A roux is a mixture of fat and flour used to thicken recipes like soup, gravy, and sauces. It’s used in so many of your favorite dishes- from grandmas onion gravy to a New Orleans gumbo. I find it hard to believe that you could get along in life without mastering a quick roux.
- Use equal parts fat and flour. For example, in this recipe we will use 2 tablespoons melted butter and 2 tablespoons flour.
- Stir vigorously. The world thing you could do is burn the roux. Stirring vigorously eliminates all the flour clumps and keeps it from getting burnt. Once there are no more clumps, you can start to add in your liquid to thin it out.
- Don’t add more flour. Once you have already started adding your liquid, I wouldn’t recommend adding more flour. Have I done it? Yes, but the likelihood that you invite little flour clumps into your gravy party is high. If your gravy is too thin, simply heat up some butter in the microwave then whisky in flour creating additional roux. Once additional fat/flour is mixed, add to your gravy. It will quickly thicken up.
