Come Dine In

My cheeky munchkin don’t eat pasta in red sauce so when I cook pasta it has to be white. She never liked it and unfortunately, when she tried it she got hospitalized because of food poisoning. Well, it’s home cooked and it didn’t show any sign of spoilage so we were really shocked when everyone in the family who had it was throwing up after a few hours. Her dislike of red pasta hasn’t changed since then and if only she can say, “Mum, it’s all your fault! I told you I don’t eat red pasta!”

Because of that, I believe I’ve tried almost all creams around already and only sourcream suits my family’s taste. I would say it’s the

Beef Stroganoff is pared with rice most of the time, so just for a change I decided to pair it with pasta and I chose penne as I already have them in my cupboard. I know it tasted different as compared to the real stroganoff, but we don’t really like the taste of mustard so I just work my way to it and it tasted good as well. Forgive me but most of the time I don’t follow the recipe 100%. I always do little sometimes more adjustments and that I would always advice my readers to do the same.

Creamy meals, as what i mentioned in previous posts, are not pleasant to my hubby’s palate. He also doesn’t eat mushrooms, but since I’m the cook here then he has no right to complain. LOL! He’s the opposite of our little darling, Alyssa, who eats almost anything except that he is having a hard time chewing most meats like pork and beef. But with this recipe, I would say that I succeeded again. hhmm.. Good job for me!

INGREDIENTS:
200g beef ramp steak
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil + 1/2 tbsp. more for tossing the pasta (you may use extra virgin if you have)
150g mushrooms, any kind
200g penne pasta
1 medium onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp. plain/corn flour
1 Knorr beef cubes, may leave if you have none
1/2 tbsp. tomato puree
2 tbsp. creme fraiche
1/2 tbsp. dijon mustard (if you like)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley, fresh or dried
freshly ground salt and pepper

METHOD:
1. Slice the beef as thinly as you can, bring to a boil with 3 cups water, add a dash of salt. Cook until tender. Drain and reserve the broth.

2. Cook the penne until al dente, drain. Transfer into a bowl. Dash with the olive oil (extra virgin if using) and sprinkle with the parsley. Toss.

3. In a large, non-stick skillet, melt half the butter with half the oil and fry the beef until brown on both sides. Set aside leaving the oil on the pan. Bring back the pan on the heat and do the same with the mushrooms and set aside with the beef when done.

4. With the remaining butter and oil, saute the onion or shallots and garlic. Tip in the flour and gradually stir in 150ml of the beef broth (the reserved water used in tenderizing beef) and the beef cubes (if you have). Let it bubble until thickened. Stir in the puree, mustart (is using) and creme fraiche. Bubble for about a minute more then put back the beef and mushrooms to the pan. Mix well with the creamy sauce.

5. Arrange the pasta on a serving plate and pour in the beef stroganoff. Serve immediately.

Creme Fraiche is now a staple in my shopping list as it is very light and tasty. It is a French word which literally means “fresh cream”. I get my hubby to like cream based pastas because of creme fraiche. In my case, cooking for 2 and a half.. LOL.. I was able to make 3 meals with the 300ml of it, so watch out for another 2 recipes. Happy Home-Cooking!!!