Spar @ Lifestyle

BEEF: CLASSIC BEEF STROGANOFF

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

A delicious, creamy, paprika flavoured casserole with tender strips of beef and white mushrooms.

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 30 ml  SPAR Butter or full-fat Margarine
• 15 ml  SPAR Olive Oil
• +-725 g    beef stroganoff strips
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tray   SPAR Freshline White Sliced Mushrooms (250 g)
• 2 cloves    garlic, finely chopped
• 2 ml   paprika
• 25 ml SPAR Cake Flour, seasoned with salt and black pepper
• 15 ml SPAR Tomato Paste
• 15 ml SPAR Dijon Mustard
• ½   SPAR beef Stock Cube, dissolved in 200 ml hot water
• 1 tub  SPAR French Style Crème Fraiche Sour Cream (250 g)

Method

1. In a pan, heat together half the butter and half the oil. Toss and turn over high heat, to brown the strips all over, before removing from the pan. Repeat with the other half of the meat, using the remaining butter and oil. Set aside all the browned meat.
2. Add the onion and mushrooms to the same pan, and shake over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until tender, adding in the garlic towards the end of this time.
3. Combine the paprika and seasoned flour and stir into the pan with the tomato paste, mustard and hot stock. Add the browned beef strips, and simmer covered, on low, for 3- 5 minutes. Do not boil or overcook.
4. Stir in the crème fraiche off the heat, and preferably serve immediately, but if not, you may need to adjust and perfect the sauce consistency while re-heating, with a dash of sherry, brandy, milk or beef stock.

Hints and Tips

• When choosing the meat at your SPAR butchery counter, do not make the error of buying Beef Goulash strips instead of Beef Stroganoff strips; the beef cuts they are from are different and require very definite and varying cooking times.
• You can cut your own strips from rump or sirloin steak if you cannot find the ready-sliced option. Cut across the grain of the meat.
• To lower the fat content of this dish, the crème fraiche may be substituted with plain smooth low-fat yoghurt, but then only added in to the hot dish just before serving and not returned to the stove at all for re-heating.

KIDDIES: VEGETABLE BASKET

Prep Time: 10 minutes (while baking)

Cook Time: 15 minutes

An appealing way to enjoy a vegetable meal; so much so, you may even forego meat next time round.

Ingredients (Serves 1)

• 1 box frozen SPAR Crumbed Veggie Fingers
• Your favourite salad ingredients eg SPAR Freshline baby carrots, mange tout, mini-plum tomatoes, mixed lettuces, avocado pear cubes, baby corn

 

Method

1. Bake the veggie fingers in the oven, using the on-pack instructions.
2. While waiting for them to bake, rinse and trim the salad ingredients.
3. Place the cooked veggie fingers on a serving plate in a square basket pattern as shown.
4. Fill with salad vegetables, and serve immediately.

VEGETARIAN: VEGETABLE LASAGNE

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

A meatless alternative to a classic beef lasagne. Vary the vegetables and make it uniquely yours each time!

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

• 10ml SPAR Pure and Mild Olive Oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2ml SPAR Freshline Crushed Garlic
• ½ a tray SPAR Freshline Button Mushrooms, sliced (125g)
• 400g pouch or jar tomato based pasta sauce
• SPAR Italian Lasagne Sheets
• 1 pouch SPAR Freshline Butternut Veg for Two, microwaved using on-pack instructions  (250g)
• 1 can SPAR Lentils in tomato puree and brine, drained
• 320g tray frozen SPAR Creamed Spinach, microwaved using on-pack instructions
• 100g grated SPAR Cheddar Cheese (250ml)

 

Method

1. Sauté the onion, garlic and mushrooms in the heated olive oil until tender.
2. Set aside.
3. Using a greased oven dish measuring approximately 20 x 30cm, layer the ingredients in this order:
4. Little pasta sauce just to coat the dish base

• Lasagne sheets
• Half the fried onion mushroom mix
• Half the lentils
• Lasagne sheets
• Half pasta sauce
• All the butternut
• Remaining half lentils
• Remaining fried onion mushroom mix
• Creamed Spinach
• Lasagne sheets
• Remaining pasta sauce

Cover and set aside for 30 minutes or so, while the oven heats up to 180 °C.
Sprinkle over the cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

RIMONA DORASAMY

Deli & Cheese Supervisor

DENISE RAMNARAIN

Coffee Shop Supervisor