BEEF STROGANOFF WITH PAPPARDELLE
One Recipe. Two Delicious Versions.
A rich, comforting family favourite. Slow-cooked mushrooms and onions create a deeply savoury sauce, while the adults’ version is finished with tender fillet steak, red wine and plenty of fresh tarragon. The baby version keeps all of those comforting flavours in a gentle, little-one-friendly meal using beef mince.
Serves: 4 adults + 3–4 baby portions
Adult Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
● 1 large onion, sliced into crescents
● 250g chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
● Knob of butter
● Glug of olive oil
● 2 tsp garlic purée
● 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
● 280ml red wine
● 1 beef stock pot
● 450g fillet steak, thickly sliced
● Salt, to season
● 300ml sour cream
● 50g fresh tarragon, roughly chopped
To Serve
● Fresh pappardelle pasta (or rice or sautéed potatoes)
Method
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook gently for around 12–15 minutes until beautifully soft and beginning to caramelise.
2. Stir in the garlic purée and black pepper and cook for a further minute.
3. Pour in the red wine and add the beef stock pot. Allow everything to bubble away until the wine has reduced to a thick, rich, sticky sauce. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and set aside.
4. Return the pan to a high heat with another lug of olive oil and a knob of butter. Once the pan is smoking hot, add the fillet steak in a single layer.
5. Cook for around 2–3 minutes, turning occasionally, until beautifully golden on the outside but still slightly under your preferred doneness. The steak will continue to cook once the sauce is added.
6. Return the mushroom mixture to the pan, stir through the sour cream and gently warm everything through. Avoid boiling once the sour cream has been added.
7. Fold through the chopped tarragon and season to taste. I like my stroganoff quite peppery, but adjust to your own preference.
8. Toss with freshly cooked pappardelle or serve alongside fluffy rice or buttery sautéed potatoes.
Tiny Feaster Version
Ingredients
● 1 medium onion
● 250g mushrooms
● Knob of butter
● Splash of olive oil
● ½ tsp garlic purée
● 500g beef mince or finely chopped fillet steak if feeling
Extravagant!
● 1 very low-salt beef stock cube
● Small pinch of black pepper
● 270ml water
● 150ml sour cream
● 5g fresh tarragon, very finely chopped
To Serve
● Soft cooked pappardelle (cut into smaller pieces if needed), rice or soft sautéed potatoes.
Method
1. Place the onion and mushrooms into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan and gently cook the vegetables with the garlic purée until completely soft and sweet.
3. Add the beef mince and cook until browned, breaking it up well with a spoon.
4. Crumble in the very low-salt stock cube, add the pinch of black pepper and pour in the water.
5. Simmer gently until most of the liquid has reduced and the beef is beautifully tender.
6. Stir through the sour cream and finely chopped tarragon, warming gently for a minute or two. Do not allow the sauce to boil.
7. Serve with soft pappardelle, rice or potatoes, depending on your little one’s stage.
The adults’ version is all about keeping the fillet steak beautifully pink and tender, while the baby version uses slow-simmered mince for a softer texture that’s easy to eat. Two delicious meals, made from the same family favourite
