Mushroom Stroganoff

By ltrodrigu

At Kachka in Portland, Ore., they make their Stroganoff using house-made smetana, a Russian sour cream. If you have access to a Russian grocery, you can substitute that for the crème fraîche called for here.

Ingredients

• 1 quart water
• 1/4 cup mixed dried mushrooms
• 2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as chanterelles, white mushrooms, shiitakes, king oyster and porcini, ends and tough stems trimmed and reserved, remaining parts of mushrooms coarsely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup crème fraîche
• 1 recipe homemade egg noodles or 1 pound dried egg noodles, cooked al dente
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make Mushroom Stock:
Bring 1 quart water along with dried mushrooms and reserved fresh mushroom ends and stems to a boil in a medium pot over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until concentrated, 45 minutes. Strain and discard solids.

Meanwhile, in a 6- to 8-quart pot over medium-low heat, sauté onions with 2 tablespoons butter and ½ teaspoon salt until caramelized, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Increase heat to high and add oil to pan. Once hot, add fresh mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 15 minutes, making sure any water that seeps out of mushrooms evaporates. Season with 1½ teaspoons salt.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic and caramelized onions to mushrooms, and cook to allow flavors to combine, 5 minutes. Deglaze pot with 1 tablespoon Cognac, scraping up brown bits from bottom. Transfer sautéed mushroom mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Make Sauce:
Set pot used for cooking onions and mushrooms over medium heat. Melt remaining butter until it starts to foam, then whisk in flour until smooth and slightly darkened, 2-3 minutes. In a slow, steady stream, pour mushroom stock into pan, whisking to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2-3 minutes. Whisk crème fraîche into sauce until smooth. Stir in remaining Cognac and reserved sautéed mushroom mixture. Adjust seasoning if needed.

To serve, add cooked noodles to sauce and toss to combine. Garnish with parsley and pepper.