This was one of my favorite dishes as a kid, a less-expensive version of the classic dish created and named for a Count Stroganov in late 19th-century Russia. Very popular in America during the 60s and 70s, the original recipe for Beef Stroganoff called for thin sliced of pricey beef fillet. Although my mom used meatballs instead, it seemed luxurious to me. Eventually my mom (and my aunt Jean and my grandmother) stopped making it, maybe because it finally seemed too old fashioned. By the time I wanted to demonstrate it on my show, Beef Stroganoff was so antique that none of my relatives could come up with a recipe — and all I remembered of it were the bouillon cubes, tomato paste and cultivated mushrooms. When I re-created the recipe, I lost the bouillon cubes (too chemical-tasting to me now) and the tomato paste but kept the cultivated mushrooms — although you would get a more elegant dish if you used such flavorful mushrooms as shiitakes or chanterelles. The ground beef of choice is chuck because it has the most flavor (and the most fat, too, alas). If you want to make a lighter version of this dish, you can substitute ground sirloin or ground round and low-fat sour cream.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra, for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra, for seasoning
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound cultivated white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions