Forgot to take a picture once it was out of the oven . . . sorry about that. On top is a nice flavorful layer of Gruyere cheese and buttered bread crumbs.
A post from Carolyn. If any of you are “of a certain age,” you may remember that serving authentic beef stroganoff was a frequent entertaining entree way back in the 60s and 70s. It required copious amounts of sour cream and of course, some kind of tender beef. Whatever type I bought wasn’t ever tender enough. I think tenderloin is the authentic beef recommended – that was way out of my price range, so I used some other substitute (and probably overcooked it, or it was a type that might never get tender) so I wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the results. My other go-to company meal was turkey a la king, served in puff pastry cups – a more inexpensive entree served elegantly in those little buttery vessels. Vaguely I remember when someone decided to make stroganoff with ground beef, but it was considered to be a cheap substitute (and oh, hand up to forehead – gasp – certainly not worthy of a company meal). Over the ensuing years I know I’d made that substitute casserole many times, but it never came into regular rotation. Probably because it was thick, gloopy (is that a word?) and over-the-top too rich.
How times have changed. When I watched Rachael Ray make this on her show, I was intrigued. Why? Because she used a max of 1/2 cup of sour cream (not 1 – 2+ cups as I’d used in my other recipes), it didn’t contain any canned soup (cream of mushroom), and it used sherry wine plus a moderate amount of Worcestershire sauce. Plus it was a much dry-er casserole – no gluey or thick mushy type serving.
Did you know that Worcestershire is an umami flavor? Yup. You can add a little bit to dishes and you’ll not know it’s there, but it adds nice flavor. Mushrooms also have umami, and there are plenty of them in this recipe too. Rachael called for rye or pumpernickel bread crumbs . . . I didn’t have those and wasn’t about to buy a loaf of that bread to garner a cup of breadcrumbs, so I used panko, because that’s what I had on hand. Others who have made this recipe and posted it online mention those rye or pumpernickel bread crumbs as being a real game-changer. I like it just fine with panko crumbs, but agree, the other types might make this casserole even better. The addition of Gruyere cheese also added to the high-flavor profile here. I buy Costco ground beef – I think it has more flavor than many others, like my local grocery store variety. I keep those Costco cubes in my freezer all the time (they’re 1 1/2 pounds, just what’s called for in this recipe).
If you make this and have leftovers, heat them in servings in the microwave, maybe with a sprinkling of water on the bottom. As I mentioned, this makes a kind of “dry” casserole. I’d reheat them in a bowl rather than a flat plate.
What’s GOOD: really delicious comfort-food casserole. Liked the depth of flavor in this (from the mushrooms, Worcestershire, sherry wine, Gruyere) and will definitely make this again. It should freeze well – I made two small casseroles and one large one. The smaller ones I froze, so I’ll enjoy them in coming months.
What’s NOT: only that it takes about an hour to prepare (plus baking time), with a moderate amount of cutting and chopping; nothing is difficult. You’ll find that the mixture seems quite dry, but it works out fine.
printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)
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Ground Beef Stroganoff Casserole
Recipe By: adapted slightly from a Rachael Ray recipe
Servings: 10
NOODLES:
1 pound egg noodles — wide type
2 tablespoons butter
BEEF:
1/4 cup olive oil — divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces mushrooms — thinly sliced (3/4 pound)
2 large shallots — finely chopped (or 1 medium white or yellow onion)
4 cloves garlic — chopped
3 tablespoons fresh thyme — chopped, or 1 T dried
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup sherry wine — or 1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
CRUMB TOPPING:
2 cups bread crumbs — rye, pumpernickel, or panko
2 tablespoons butter — melted
2 cups Gruyere cheese — shredded
3 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish
CHANGES I MADE: I added more Gruyere cheese and reduced the oven temp to 375°F as the top got a bit too toasted. I also added the Italian parsley garnish.
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. For the egg noodles, cook noodles in boiling, salted water for two minutes less than package directions, then toss with butter, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. For the beef and mushrooms, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with half the olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, add beef and brown, breaking up with the back of your spoon, season with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Remove the beef from the skillet and set aside.
4. Add the remainder of the oil to the same pan, then add the mushrooms and brown. Add the shallots (or onion), garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stir a few minutes to soften shallots, then add sherry and let it evaporate and cook into the mushrooms. Add beef stock and simmer 5 minutes, then stir in heavy cream and sour cream (if the sour cream is at all clumpy, use a coil whisk to make it smooth). Add the beef back to the skillet with the mushrooms and remove from heat. The mixture will seem thin but all the liquid is absorbed by the noodles when it bakes.
5. For the breadcrumbs, in a bowl, mix together melted butter, breadcrumbs and Gruyere.
6. Toss beef and mushroom mixture with noodles. Pour into casserole dish. Top with Gruyere and rye breadcrumbs and bake in the center of your oven until brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. If you have leftovers, heat them in serving sizes in the microwave with a little tetch of water added, so it doesn’t dry up the noodles on the bottom.
Per Serving: 752 Calories; 43g Fat (51.5% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 52g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 161mg Cholesterol; 768mg Sodium; 4g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 574mg Calcium; 5mg Iron; 648mg Potassium; 607mg Phosphorus.
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