Mushroom Stroganoff
Mushrooms browned hard in two batches, not steamed in one crowded pan. The soured cream goes in off the heat.
- Prep
- 15m
- Cook
- 25m
- Total
- 40m
- Serves
- 4
- Effort
- Easy
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done. Tap an ingredient once for got it, twice for need it.
| 500 g | Brown the mushrooms hard, in two batches 14m A crowded pan hits 100°C and stalls there. Two batches, no lid, no stirring for the first two minutes. | Deglaze and reduce to a glossy sauce 8m | Stir the soured cream in off the heat 2m Boil soured cream and the proteins clump. Residual pan heat is plenty. | |
| 30 g | ||||
| 1 tbsp | ||||
| 1 tsp | ||||
| 1 | Soften the onion and garlic in the same pan 6m | |||
| 2 cloves | ||||
| 20 g | ||||
| 3 tbsp | ||||
| 200 ml | ||||
| 2 tsp | ||||
| 1 tsp | ||||
| 10 g | ||||
| 150 ml | ||||
| a handful | ||||
| plenty | ||||
-
Brown the mushrooms hard, in two batches
14m- chestnut mushrooms 500 g
- butter 30 g
- sunflower oil 1 tbsp
- salt 1 tsp
A crowded pan hits 100°C and stalls there. Two batches, no lid, no stirring for the first two minutes.
-
Soften the onion and garlic in the same pan
6m- onion 1
- garlic 2 cloves
- butter 20 g
-
Deglaze and reduce to a glossy sauce
8m- from 1 Brown the mushrooms hard, in two batches
- from 2 Soften the onion and garlic in the same pan
- brandy 3 tbsp
- vegetable stock 200 ml
- Dijon mustard 2 tsp
- smoked paprika 1 tsp
- dried porcini (optional) 10 g
-
Stir the soured cream in off the heat
2m- from 3 Deglaze and reduce to a glossy sauce
- soured cream 150 ml
- parsley a handful
- black pepper plenty
Boil soured cream and the proteins clump. Residual pan heat is plenty.
Why two batches
Mushrooms are roughly 90 percent water. Tip 500 g into one pan and that water floods out faster than it can evaporate, so the pan temperature pins at boiling point and the mushrooms stew. Split them and each batch loses its water quickly enough that the surface can climb past 140°C, where browning reactions produce the savoury depth the dish lives on. Salting early only accelerates the water release, so hold it back.
Notes
- Torn mushrooms brown better than sliced ones. The ragged surface gives more area for the pan to work on.
- Full-fat soured cream only. Low-fat versions split even off the heat.
- Serve over buttered noodles or plain rice, not something that competes.