LITTLE ROCK — Several years ago, my sister Katie found our grandma’s old recipe file, stuffed with yellowed clippings and recipes handwritten
in her slanted cursive. It was a great
source of inspiration for classic reci
pes that needed a little makeover. The
file was full of cheesy casseroles, dishes
with canned mushroom soup, and a rich
recipe for beef stroganoff, laced with
sour cream.
My sister and I didn’t eat much beef
stroganoff growing up, but it was wildly
popular in the 1950s (the ultimate com
fort-food era), when my grandma was
busy cooking for her family. Katie, a rec
ipe developer for EatingWell, revamped
the old recipe to create EatingWell’s Beef
Stroganoff With Portobello Mushrooms,
which is healthier and tastier than our
grandma’s version.
Three tricks made the new version
healthy: 1. We added meaty portobello mush
rooms to make sure the servings are sat
isfying but not too high in calories.
- We substituted reduced-fat sour
cream for regular sour cream and heavy
cream.
- While beef stroganoff is made
with all sorts of cuts of meat, sometimes
sliced into strips or diced, we opted for
flank steak in this recipe because it’s
relatively lean. The trick with flank is
to cut it thinly to keep it tender.
BEEF AND PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM STROGANOFF Our version of beef stroganoff tops seared flank
steak with a rich-tasting sauce made with a touch
of cognac, reduced-fat sour cream and plenty of
portobello mushrooms. Serve over whole-wheat
egg noodles.
Makes 4 servings, 1 1/2 cups each.
Prep time: 40 minutes.
Total time: 40 minutes.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon canola oil,
divided
1 pound flank steak, trimmed4 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed, halved and thinly sliced 1 large onion, sliced 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium beef broth 2 tablespoons cognac or brandy 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream 4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or parsley Directions:
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add steak and cook until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (The meat will be rare, but will continue to cook as it rests.) Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut lengthwise into 2 long pieces, then crosswise, across the grain, into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are very tender andlightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Stir in broth, cognac (or brandy) and vinegar and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue cooking, stirring often, until the mixture is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream, chives (or parsley), the sliced steak and any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Recipe nutrition: Per serving - 338 calories, 17 grams fat (6 grams saturated, 7 grams monounsaturated), 58 milligrams cholesterol, 14 grams carbohydrate, 28 grams protein, 2 grams fiber, 552 milligrams sodium and 828 milligrams potassium.
1 carbohydrate serving.
Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat and 1 fat.
Jessie Price is the deputy editor of food for EatingWell Magazine and author of the James Beard Award-winning The Simple Art of EatingWell and EatingWell One-Pot Meals. EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life and can be found online at www.eating well.com.
Tri-Lakes, Pages 57 on 04/12/2012