Saturday, 28 August 2021

More entertaining - Strog Part 2 – the day before and on the day

The day before you want to serve the Strog – not a huge workload - take both bags of meat and gravy out of the freezer and fridge to allow them to defrost properly.

Before I begin, a practical tip. My slow cooker can be used on the hob i.e. it's separate from the base. If yours can't then you'll need a large saucepan. As a guide 23x12 cms – 9x4½” in old money.

Tip the contents of the gravy bag – carefully – into the cooker or the pan. Using a large frying pan melt 50g of unsalted butter, add the quartered mushrooms and season with salt and black pepper, sauté gently. The mushrooms will release liquid – continue to cook gently and the liquid will be absorbed, leaving slightly browned mushrooms.

Another tip. If I'm adding cornflour to thicken a gravy I mix it separately in a small jug or cup – with this dish you can use some of the cold gravy or a drop of cold water.

Back to the mushrooms. Add a couple of ladles of gravy from the cooker or the pan and heat gently until simmering, you can then gradually add the cornflour, stirring until smooth and thickened.

Yet another tip – when you're about to add the soured cream add some of the cold gravy before incorporating and whisk together. This will prevent white specks appearing – now is not the time to spoil the appearance of the Strog!

Warm the gravy in the slow cooker or saucepan and then add the thickened mushrooms and the soured cream loosened with the gravy.

All that remains is to add the slow cooked steak to the mushrooms, cream and gravy. Simmer very gently for 20 minutes until piping hot – resist the urge to stir, you'll break up the steak. A gentle jiggle will do the job. To “jiggle” is to give a quick light shake!

You can serve the Strog with whatever takes your fancy. As you know I chose mashed potato – it's not everyone's bag but for me it's the perfect combination. If you're not a fan, then tagliatelle is a popular choice or new potatoes, surprisingly rice is not top of the list but it's whatever your favourite gravy absorber is! It's personal – for me there's nothing quite like Strog ladled generously over a mini mountain of good mashed potato – cuts down on washing up too – you only need either a spoon or a fork to devour!

Then there's the dessert … a bowl of strawberries


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