Light Beef Stroganoff

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g beef rump steak
• 280 g basmati rice
• 400 g button mushrooms
• 1 brown onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 beef stock cube dissolved in 150 ml hot water
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 200 ml light single cream
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 10 g fresh parsley
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan
• Saucepan
• Colander
• Chopping board and a sharp knife
• Bowl
• Spatula

📖 Steps

1. Take the rump steak out of the fridge right at the start: it'll be less cold when you sear it. Rinse the basmati rice, then cook it for 10 to 11 min in a large pan of salted boiling water. Drain and keep it warm in the pan with the lid on.
2. Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper, then cut it into thin strips 1 cm wide and 5 cm long, slicing across the grain: that's what makes it tender. Season with salt and pepper. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
3. Clean the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper rather than rinsing them under the tap, then slice them. Peel and thinly slice the onion, and chop the garlic. In a bowl, mix the cream, mustard and cornflour until there are no lumps. Chop the parsley.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan over a high heat until it's lightly smoking. Sear half the strips for 1 min 30 s, turning them once, then set aside on a plate. Repeat with the rest: too much meat at once would make it boil.
5. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rest of the oil, the onion and mushrooms to the same pan. Cook for 7 to 8 min, stirring, until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and they start to brown. Add the garlic and paprika and stir for 30 s.
6. Pour in the stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with the spatula to lift the browned bits. Let it reduce for 3 min over a medium heat. Add the cream and mustard mixture and let it thicken for 2 min, stirring, at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil.
7. Return the meat and its juices to the sauce and leave for just 1 min over a low heat to warm through: any longer and it turns tough and rubbery. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed.
8. Divide the rice between the plates, spoon over the beef stroganoff and scatter with parsley. Serve straight away: the sauce should be silky and coat the meat, and the beef still pink in the middle.