Po-Stroganovski (Beef Stroganoff)

By most accounts this well know dish dates back to the second half of the 19th century. It originated in the kitchens of count Alexander Grigoriyevich Stroganov, who, like many other wealthy gentleman of that era, was keeping an "open table" in Odessa, which could be joined by any educated and properly dressed member of the society. The dish became popular, due to its taste and the easiness to divide it into portions (novelty at the time) and subsequently spread to the other establishments of fine dining in the Russian Empire.

There are some disagreements over the ingredients and serving. The recipe bellow is the original Russian version, served in the restaurants of Kaunas governorate at the turn of the century (~1900). It does not contain mushrooms, and usually it was served with potato fries and brined pickles. Back in those days mushrooms were available year round (fresh in the autumn, marinaded, salted, dried for the rest of the year), but those were mostly real forest mushrooms, which generally have much more defined flavors than the common button mushroom in our shops. As for the french fries, they were known in Russia due to the popularity of the French culture among Russian nobility, kitchen included, however in some restaurants it was served with a buttery potato mash. Brined pickles work much much better with this dish than the marinaded ones (especially what usually is available at the local supermarkets), because they have less overpowering and more natural flowing flavor.

Need:
About 200 g beef filet (tender parts of sirloin).
2 average sized onions
200 ml beef stock (preferably home made, but cubes can do too, as long as it does not have too much spices, need 1 cube)
100 g sour cream
100 g butter (quality one)
1 table spoon of french mustard (paste without grains)
3 table spoons of flour
Pepper, salt

Garnish: French fries, brined pickles.

Cut beef in bite size cubes or stripes (if there is some doubt about the cut you bought, slightly tenderize it before cutting). Roll them in a spoon of flour, so the beef is lightly dusted.
Cut onion in cubes.
In a pan, melt half of the butter (50g). Add onions. Then, gently place beef on top of the onions, so that it does not touch the frying pan surface. Fry for about 3-5 minutes, until meat starts glistering (but not browning!). Its important not to overcook it, otherwise it will be hard. Take off the fire and transfer meat and onions into an oven dish.

Now the sauce. Mix about half of a glass of the cold beef stock with 2 spoons of flour, whisk it so there are no lumps. Have the rest of the stock at hand. Note: if you are making stock from cube, dissolve the cube in 100 ml boiling water and add the other 100ml cold afterwards, so the stock is not hot when you need it.

Melt butter in a clean frying pan, on a slow fire. Add the stock with flour, mixing vigorously, then thin it out with the rest of the beef stock. Add sour cream, mustard, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt.

Pour the sauce over the beef and onions, cover the dish with foil and put into the oven (180C) for about 15 min.