Back home in the US we have a brand called Hamburger Helper that offers boxed ingredients for a meal you can make by adding only a pound of ground (minced) beef and water. It’s not exactly haute cuisine, but just ask any American who grew up in the 1980’s or 90’s… It’s a beloved comfort food.
While the cheesy versions were the most popular as far as I can remember, my favourite was always the Stroganoff. When I first tried it I had never had a Beef Stroganoff before, so it was very interesting and new. What made it even more exciting was that my mother never liked it or made it at home, so it was a special treat if I got to have it at someone else’s house. These meals were not exactly high quality, starting with powdered mixes however they were tasty and easy to prepare. Eventually, I decided after some time living outside the US that I would need to find a hack for how to make this myself and Creamy Hamburger Stroganoff has been part of the regular dinner rotation at my house ever since. I must admit, it’s pretty close to what I remember so I’m totally satisfied with the result!
My Creamy Hamburger Stroganoff is not authentic Beef Stroganoff and I wouldn’t dare pretend that it is. Lack of authenticity doesn’t make it any less delicious. The recipe is super easy to make, uses ingredients that can be found anywhere, doesn’t take much time at all and is a nice weekday dinner that’s not too difficult to put together after a hard day of work. It also makes a nice lunch the next day for warming up in the microwave, if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons garlic oil
- 500g beef mince
- 2x beef stock pots (or beef stock cubes crumbled)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 300ml sour cream
- 150ml boiling water from a freshly boiled kettle
- Small bunch of dill, finely chopped
- 500g fusilli pasta (or other short pasta of your choice)
Method
- Put a large saucepan of salted water with a drop of oil on to boil for the pasta.
- In a large casserole or saucepan that will fit everything later, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and season it with salt & pepper. Brown the meat while using a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks.
- When the meat is browned and no longer showing signs of pink, stir in the stock pots and Worcestershire sauce, allowing it to all melt into the pan and coat the beef.
- Add the sour cream, boiling water and a very generous grinding of black pepper. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or so until starting to thicken.
- During this time, cook your pasta according to instructions. Make sure to check it a minute or two before the end of the suggested cooking time to get the consistency you desire. When the pasta is cooked, reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water and strain it.
- When the sauce has thickened a bit and the pasta is ready, add it to the casserole and toss it in the sauce. Add some of the pasta cooking water, one tablespoon at a time to help the sauce cling to the pasta. Toss & stir until it’s all coated and combined.
- To serve, spoon it into bowls or onto plates and sprinkle some finely chopped dill over the Stroganoff from a height. Serve hot.
