mushroom stroganoff

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Way back in July 2021 while scrolling through Instagram I came across this video by Hotel Los Castaños in Ronda, showing them making a mushroom stroganoff. I immediately thought about my portobellos in the fridge that were probably close to the “use it or lose it” stage, so I decided that I was going to make mushroom stroganoff too. Then I also checked out a few recipes online as I never have cream (used in the video) and saw that sour cream is more usual in a stroganoff. I never have that either, but I have found that straining greek yoghurt for an hour or so using a melitta coffee filter makes a more than acceptable substitute. Los Castaños added chopped spinach to theirs at the end of the vid, which I thought was an excellent idea, though I found out later that fresh parsley is the usual addition. Having neither of those at the time, I tossed in a handful of arugula and it turned out great.

Since then I have made roughly a gazillion different versions of this but somehow have never got round to publishing any of them here (though many have ended up on my azahar Instagram hashtag #thestroganoffvariations. I’ve made it with different meat options (chicken, meatballs, sausage, bacon, beef) and vegetable combos (spinach, arugula, courgette, parsley, cilantro) with portobellos being the one constant ingredient, along with the onions and garlic.

I’ve also served it in various ways, on fat egg noodles, spaghetti, penne or fideos, with roasted or mashed potatoes, and even on crusty toasted bread. As you can tell, it’s quite a versatile dish if you’re not too concerned about making AN ACTUAL STROGANOFF 😉 (in which case it’s probably best to google “authentic beef stroganoff recipe”).

I think what’s happened is that MY stroganoff has turned out to be a bit like a risotto bianco, which you can use as a base and just add whatever the heck you want. Which, as is often my case, whatever happens to be hanging around in the fridge. So yeah, it’s not a classic or even remotely authentic, stroganoff recipe. But damn it’s always good. And so here is the basic mushroom version and hey, just have some tasty fun with it.

Ingredients and instructions below…

  • 250 grams portobello mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, sliced
  • freshly grated black pepper (lots)
  • 1 tbsp salted butter (omit if using bacon or sausage)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 250 ml beef stock (veg stock for vegetarian)
  • splash of brandy (or amontillado sherry)
  • 200-300 grams greek yoghurt (strained 1-2 hours)
  • 175 gr baby spinach, slightly wilted
  • chopped fresh parsley

Sautée the portobellos in a small amount of olive oil and butter until nicely browned and excess liquid is cooked off. Set aside.

Then add the onion and garlic to the same pan with a bit more butter and olive oil, and lots of freshly ground black pepper, sautée until onions are tender and translucent. Add the mushrooms back to the same pan, turning heat up to medium and cook until everything is nicely blended. Remove from pan and set aside.

  • If you are adding any meat or extra veg (other than spinach) this is your moment. Cook them separately in the same pan until done and then set aside with the mushrooms, onions, garlic.

Deglaze the pan on high heat with a good splash of brandy (or sherry) and cook off the alcohol, then stir in the broth, bringing to a boil, lower the heat a bit and cook it down until the liquid is reduced by about a third. Reduce heat to low and add the mushroom onion mixture again, stir until well mixed, then add the spinach and parsley.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the yoghurt (or sour cream if you have it) a tablespoon at a time, blending it well each time, then continue stirring on low heat until the sauce thickens. Season with more black pepper to taste. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

The Stroganoff Variations

This is the stock cube I like to use, even if I’m making a veggie or chicken stroganoff, because it gives the sauce a nice deep robust flavour. You’ll also notice I don’t add any extra salt because I find that with the butter and broth it’s plenty salty enough.