Beef Strogonoff - by Philippe Wavrin

• 800g filet or rumpsteak, cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 200g wild mushrooms or button mushrooms – to your taste
• 150ml white wine
• 1 small tablespoon of smoked paprika [or pimento de la vera if you can find it]
• 150ml double cream
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4 large gherkins (or 8 small French cornichons), sliced finely, lengthways
• 50g butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Quickly fry the beef in the vegetable oil. Cook to your taste (rare, medium rare, medium) remembering that the more you cook the meat the dryer it becomes. Remove from the frying pan and put aside, covered to keep it warm. Drain the juices and oil from the pan.
Melt the butter in the frying pan, add the chopped onions and soften on a medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms are soft and the juice from the butter and mushrooms has evaporated.
Add the smoked paprika, mixing well and leave to cook on a medium heat for a further minute.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine (use the liquid to loosen any spices and juices on the base of the pan and mix vigourously), leave to cook on a low to medium heat until the white wine deglazing mixture is reduced by a half.
Add the double cream and continue to cook until the sauce is reduced to a coating consistency.
Add the lemon juice, the chopped parsley and the sliced gherkins.
Add the meat just before serving, heat through but do not boil.
Serve with a small bowl of sour cream for garnishing, pan-fried sliced sweet red peppers and pilau rice

Philippe Wavrin
Executive Chef, The Robert Parker Hotel Collection