Ground beef browned with onion and drained, then half a pound of cremini mushrooms given five minutes of their own and garlic for thirty seconds.
Two tablespoons of flour, three cups of broth with Worcestershire and Dijon, and eight ounces of wide egg noodles cooked right in the sauce. Sour cream goes in off the heat.
Why This Recipe Works
- The noodles cook in the sauce. They absorb broth and give back starch, which is why a sauce thickened with only two tablespoons of flour ends up as creamy as it does.
- The sour cream goes in off the heat. This is the difference between a smooth sauce and a grainy one, and it costs nothing but the discipline to take the pan off the hob first.
- The mushrooms get their own five minutes. Half a pound of cremini holds a great deal of water, and releasing it before the broth arrives is what keeps the sauce from thinning.
- Dijon and Worcestershire together. A teaspoon and a tablespoon respectively, and between them they carry the savoury depth that a stroganoff usually gets from a longer braise.
- Cremini rather than white mushrooms. They keep their shape and their flavour through the covered simmer where button mushrooms would surrender both.
How One Pot Makes A Sauce And Cooks The Pasta
The noodles cook in the sauce rather than in a separate pan of water, which is what makes this a one-pot recipe. It also means the sauce is built before the pasta arrives and finished after it.
The browning
5 minutes for the mushrooms, 30 seconds for the garlic1 pound ground beef with diced onion, then 8 ounces sliced cremini
The beef is browned and drained, then the mushrooms get five minutes of their own. Mushrooms release a lot of water and this is the window in which it goes — added later they would thin the sauce.
The roux
1 minute2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Stirred into the meat and mushrooms for a full minute. It is the only thickener in the dish, and the minute is what stops the sauce tasting of raw flour.
The sauce
3 cups broth, Worcestershire, Dijon, salt and pepper
Brought to a simmer. Dijon and Worcestershire are the two savoury sharpeners that keep a beef and sour cream sauce from tasting flat.
The pasta, in the sauce
8 to 10 minutes, covered, stirred twice8 ounces wide egg noodles
Covered, eight to ten minutes, stirred twice. The noodles absorb about a third of the broth and release starch back into it, which is why the sauce thickens as they cook.
Then tasteOFF the heat, half a cup of sour cream stirred through until smooth, then parsley. This is the step that must not be rushed.
Ingredient Notes
- Sour cream
- Half a cup, full-fat, and stirred in off the heat. Low-fat sour cream carries more water and splits far more readily.
- Wide egg noodles
- Eight ounces, cooked in the sauce rather than separately. Wide noodles hold a stroganoff sauce; a thin shape would go soft in the same time.
- Cremini mushrooms, sliced
- Eight ounces. They need their own five minutes before any liquid arrives so their water evaporates rather than thinning the sauce.
- All-purpose flour
- Two tablespoons, cooked for a full minute. The noodles' starch does the rest of the thickening.
- Low-sodium beef broth
- Three cups — the cooking liquid and the sauce at once. Low-sodium, because it reduces as the noodles absorb it.
How to Make It
Brown the beef and onion
Cook the ground beef and onion in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven until the beef is browned; drain excess fat.
Mushrooms, then garlic
Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
Cook out the flour
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute.
Build the sauce
Add the broth, Worcestershire, Dijon, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
Cook the noodles in it
Stir in the egg noodles, cover and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring twice, until the noodles are tender.
Sour cream, off the heat
Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream until smooth.
Serve
Finish with parsley and serve.
Success Tips
- Drain the beef well; three cups of broth will not hide rendered fat.
- Give the mushrooms their five minutes before anything wet goes in.
- Stir the noodles twice during the covered simmer so they do not stick.
- Take the pan off the heat entirely before the sour cream.
- Let it stand a minute before serving; the sauce tightens as it settles.
Serving Ideas
It is a complete bowl. A sharp green salad or pickled cucumbers cut through the richness better than another hot side would.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The noodles keep absorbing sauce, so leftovers are thicker.
Freeze
Freezing is not recommended. Sour cream sauces separate and cooked egg noodles go soft.
Reheat
Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of broth to loosen it. Avoid a boil, which will split the sour cream a second time.
Frequently Asked Questions
The sauce went grainy.
The sour cream went in over heat. Take the pan off the hob completely before it goes in — that is what step 6 is for.
Can I cook the noodles separately?
You can, but you lose the starch they release into the sauce, which is a good part of what thickens it. You would also lose the one-pot part.
It got very thick as it stood.
Egg noodles keep absorbing. Loosen it with a splash of broth when you reheat, or serve it straight away.
Can I use ground turkey?
Yes, though it is leaner and browns less. Turkey needs 165°F rather than the 160°F this beef recipe states.
