Lilly Higgins: Beef Stroganoff has stood the test of time

Beef Stroganoff is often thought of as one of those classic dinner party dishes from the 1970s. I loved how glamorous it looked in my mother’s cookery books, sprinkled with curly parsley and adorned with carved radishes.

It a dish that has been around since the 18th century. It consists of thinly sliced beef in a cream-based sauce with mushrooms and onions. It is the perfect example of cooking something simple and getting amazing results.

It is a traditional dish of classic Russian cuisine and named after the Stroganov family from Novgorod. They were wealthy merchants, financiers and patrons of the arts. It is thought that one member of the family employed a French chef and that he first created this indulgent dish. Another less romantic but plausible suggestion is that the dish’s name is derived from the Russian verb strogat, “to cut into pieces”.

Some original recipes use white wine, but I like to add brandy to mine, no doubt an influence from the stacks of 1960s and 70s cookbooks that I have in my collection. It gives amazing flavour and the alcohol will burn off during the cooking process.

Beef Stroganoff

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One of the cookbooks, from 1969, suggests adding curry powder and tomato puree, which would produce an altogether different result.

Beef Stroganoff is often confused with Hungarian goulash. The goulash is a nomadic tribal dish and also uses onions, paprika and beef, but uses tougher cuts and has to be slow-cooked.

The dish is traditionally served with rice but is also delicious with home-made potato chips or tagliatelle. It is a great way to eat steak and have a quick tasty sauce to go with it. Two sirloin steaks are enough to feed everyone in my family. My kids really love this. It’s so fast to make too.

As part of Irish Times Food Month, I'm cooking the dish from my Saturday column each Monday evening live on my Instagram at 6.30pm. You can watch the videos on my IGTV afterwards, if you can't join at that time. The beauty of cooking live is that viewers can comment or ask questions as we go along. It's very interactive and a lovely way to get to know readers and see what their needs are when it comes to cooking delicious family food.

Recipe: Beef Stroganoff