Beef Stroganoff with croquette potatoes

I'm a little behind with my posts, and am spending less time in the kitchen. Busy with a trip to England to prepare, Lizzy's birthday, weekend visits...

So this recipe is a couple of weeks old. The beef Stroganov owes the name to its creator, (and not Strogonov it would appear) and is of course a Russian classic. As for the croquette potatoes, they went down very well with the girls...

Preparation : 1 hour

Cooking : 3 minutes

Ingredients for 4

800 gr lean beef filet

2 tbsp oil

10 gr butter

1 chopped onion

1 tsp mild paprika

10 cl white wine

4 cl veal stock

1/2 tsp concentrated tomato puree

10 cl crème fraîche

Salt and pepper

• Cut the beef into cubes of 1cm. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
• Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, and sear the cubes of meat (with should remain rare.)
• Drain,
• Drain, and set aside the beef in a metal bowl.
• Add the tomato concentrate to the veal stock.
• Remove some of the oil from the frying pan, and add the chopped onion.
• Soften for 1 or 2 minutes.
• Deglaze with white wine, and leave to reduce.
• Add the veal stock, and reduce once more.
• Add the drained meat cubes.
• Add the crème fraîche, and reduce for a further 3 minutes.

Croquettes potatoes

Preparation : 1 hour
Refridgerator : 1 hour
Cooking time : 2 minutes per pan
Ingredients
1 kg pototoes (ex. Bintje)
1 whole egg and 3 yolks
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
75 gr butter
100 gr golden breadcrumbs
Plain flour
Salt and pepper

• Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut into small pieces and place in a saucepan of cold water.
• Salt, and cook for 30 minutes on a high heat.
• Drain the potatoes, and press through a mill. Return the mash to a saucepan on a moderate heat, stirring constantly, to evaporate some of the humidity.
• Off the heat, mix in 75 gr of butter and 3 egg yolks to the hot puree, incorporating each one fully before adding the next.
• Season with salt and pepper and the ground nutmeg. Spread the puree into a dish, and leave in the fridge for one hour. This will firm the potato making it easier to handle.
• Flour a board and kneed the potato puree to make it smooth. Take one large spoonful of the mixture and mould it into a cylinder. Do the same with the remainder of the puree.
• Place 100 gr of breadcrumbs onto a plate.
• Beat the whole egg with a pinch of salt.
• Dip each croquette into the beaten egg until completely coated, and then roll in the breadcrumbs.
• Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
• Heat a deep fryer to 170°c. Deep fry the croquettes in this hot but not smoking oil for around 2 minutes.
• Drain the croquettes on absorbant paper.

Keep warm in the oven until serving.

Ideas for Aperitif n°2

This week is Lizzy's birthday, and as a treat tomorrow we're going straight to the Paris horse show from the gates of school. They of course love horses, which is not excactly my case... And when I see Becky getting thrown off, my fear only increases...

After some quite heavy cooking these last few weeks, I'm trying to lighten things, hoping even to loose a few excess kilos before the end-of-year celebrations. Here are a few ideas to get into the a festive mood...

Parmesan Cornets

Preparation : 45 minutes

Cooking : 30 minutes

for around 30 Cornets

150 gr grated parmesan

150 gr ricotta

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp freshly chopped chive

3 slices of proscuitto ham

2 fresh or dried figs

• Preaheat the oven to 200° (mark 7).
• Place 4 circles on a sheet of oven-proof paper.
• Sprinkle 3 tsps of grated parmesan cheese evenly inside each of the circles.

• Bake for 3 minutes, until the cheese melts and turns golden.
• Use a spatula to remove each circle of cheese, and roll each around a cone made from cardboard or stiff paper. If the cheese hardens too quickly, return it to the oven for a few seconds.

• Prepare the rest of the cornets using the same technique (4 cornets at a time).
• Beat the ricotta with the lemon juice and the milk. Set aside in the fridge.
• Brown the proscuitto ham slices slightly in a frying pan.
• Dice into small pieces and add to the ricotta.
• Fill each cornet with this mixture, and decorate with a slice of fig.

Mushrooms marinated in chilli pepper
Preparation : 20 minutes
Marinade : 30 minutes
700 gr of button mushrooms
25 cl olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 pressed garlic glove
1/4 tbsp sugar
1 chopped red chilli pepper
1 chopped green chilli pepper
1 tbsp freshly chopped de coriander
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

• Wash the mushrooms thoroughly and place in a bowl.
• Mix the oil, the lemon juice, garlic, sugar, herbs and the peppers.
• Add the marinade to the mushrooms, cover, and leave for 30 minutes.

You can marinate the mushrooms up to one week beforehandand and store in the fridge.

Semi-dried tomatoes
Preparation : 10 minutes
Refridgerator : 24 heures
Cooking : 2 h 30

16 cherry tomatoes

3 tbsp freshly chopped thyme

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 160 °C ( th2-3). Cut the tomatoes into 4. Place them skin-side up on a sheet of foil on a baking tray.

• Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt, and pepper, and the chopped thyme.
• Cook for 2h30 in the oven.
• Remove from the oven, add the olive oil, and leave to cool.
• Store in a clean container in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving.

These tomatoes will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for one week.

Pepper cigarettes
Preparation : 30 minutes
Refridgeration : 2 hours
Cooking : 10 minutes
20 pieces
1 red pepper
60 gr grated gruyère or cheddar cheese
30 gr grated parmesan
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp freshly chopped parsley
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
2 drops of tabasco sauce
10 slices of white bread
10 gr melted butter

• Cut the pepper, remove the seeds, and place skin-side up under a hot grill until the skin blackens. Leave to cool in a plastic bag or in aluminium foil, and peel when cooled.
• Chop into small pieces and place in a bowl with the cheeses, the mayonnaise, herbs, tabasco sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
• Trim the sides of the bread slices, and flatten with a rolling pin.
• Brush both sides with the melted butter.
• Spread the pepper mix onto the bread, leaving a 1 cm border all around.
• Roll up the bread, and attach with cocktail sticks.
• Cover, and leave in the fridge for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 180° (mk 5).
• Cut each roll into 2, and secure each one with a cocktail stick.
• Bake for 10 minutes until crisp.

You can prepare the cigarettes the previous day before baking.

Idées "Apéritif" épisode 1