Beef Stroganoff

1½ lbs beef tenderloin or top sirloin
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 tsp ground allspice(optional)
8 Tbsp butter in all
4 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 onion finely chopped or sliced
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1 1/2 cup beef stock
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp - 1/2 cup sour cream


1. Cut the beef against the grain into ½-inch wide strips. Cut the strips into 1-inch lengths. Season with salt, pepper and allspice. Set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet. When it stops foaming, add the sliced mushrooms. As you cook them, the mushrooms will absorb the butter. Cook them just until they begin releasing the fat back into the pan, about 5 minutes total. Remove them from the frying pan and set aside.
3. Melt 3 more tablespoons of butter in the skillet and add the onions. Cook until just turning translucent but not browned.
4. Add 3 more tablespoons of butter to the pan and then the beef strips. Sauté until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the beef and onions with the flour and stir to coat everything and cook off some of the raw flour taste.
6. Add wine, stock, mustard & tomato paste, simmer about 15 minutes.
7. Add sour cream, stir till mixed thru.

Serve over buttered egg noodles or potatoes.

Note: The alcohol, tomato paste, onions and mushrooms did not appear in the first published version of Beef Stroganoff in Elena Molokhovets' cookbook, A Gift to Young Housewives (1861). They are, however, common inclusions in versions of this recipe popular today both in Russia and around the world.