Beef Stroganoff for a Fall Weeknight

Fall in our house starts when the red Dutch oven comes out of the cabinet. This week it was beef stroganoff: rich, a little tangy, and on the table on a weeknight.

I started with this Delish recipe and made it mine.

What I Changed

• Flank steak instead of skirt. Sliced thin against the grain, it stays tender.

• A mix of mushrooms: baby bellas plus little beech mushrooms, browned hard in cast iron. Don't crowd the pan. Color is flavor.

What You'll Need

• 1 lb flank steak

• 8 oz mushrooms (I used baby bellas and beech mushrooms)

• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 8 oz extra-wide egg noodles

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

• 3 tbsp neutral oil

• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1/2 cup full-bodied red wine

• 2 cups low-sodium beef stock

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• Salt and pepper

Ingredient Notes

• Noodles: go extra-wide. More surface means more sauce on every bite.

• Steak: skirt or flank. Both are thin, affordable, and forgiving, and I reach for flank.

• Shallots over onion: softer and sweeter. Buy the big ones.

• Tomato paste: just a tablespoon, but don't skip it. It's what makes the sauce taste deep.

• Stock: low-sodium, always. You can add salt, you can't take it out.

• Sour cream: stir it in at the end, off the heat. That's where the tang comes from.

How I Make It

1. Slice the steak thin against the grain, season, and toss in a little of the flour. Sear in batches in a hot pan and set aside. It finishes in the sauce.

2. Brown the mushrooms in cast iron until deeply golden, then add the shallots and garlic and let them soften.

3. Stir in the tomato paste and the rest of the flour, then pour in the red wine and scrape up every browned bit.

4. Add the stock, Dijon, and Worcestershire, and simmer until the sauce thickens.

5. Cook the egg noodles while the sauce simmers.

6. Off the heat, stir in the sour cream, return the beef, and serve over the noodles.

Shop the Kitchen

• My cast iron skillet, the reason those mushrooms brown the way they do

For timing and the full method, see the original recipe at Delish.

Watch it come together on Instagram, @thehousewivesguide.