Culinary School Chronicles - Stewing

In today`s class we focused on a few traditional dishes from Eastern Europe and Russia.  It was a pretty quick class with a pretty hearty mid-class snack.  Chef`s demo today consisted of making a truly outstanding Veal Goulash served on a bed of Spätzle.  I have always wanted to try Spätzle but I don`t know anyone who makes it so I was pretty stoked to learn how.

And I just love saying Spätzle... Spätzle, Spätzle, Spätzle, Spätzle, Spätzle!!

Spätzle is somewhere between a boiled dumpling and an egg pasta, and is basically comprised of egg, flour and milk with a grating of nutmeg.  The batter itself is much thicker than pancake batter and I`d say even a bit thick and pliable looking.  The Spätzle is formed either by machine in the commercial application or using a Spätzle cutter creating what is called a Knöpfle Spätzle (homemade or handmade).

Spätzle are formed by placing the batter in the cup of a contraption called a "Spätzlehobel", and then running it back and forth over an extremely coarse grater attachment.  You can also use a coarse grater or potato ricer to make the dumplings.  The Spätzle are then cooked in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes so they float to the top of the water, then are drained and crisped up in a lot of butter.  Tasty but certainly heavy and fattening.

You can vary your Spätzle by adding cheese or spinach, porcinni mushroom dust, herbs, etc.  Spread out on a cookie sheet to be dried, they can be frozen and cooked a là minute as a sidedish or added to soups or stews.

Then we did our lab today which was a Beef Stroganoff unlike any I`ve ever eat before, mostly because the meat they gave us was tenderloin.  Guess there was an excess somewhere in the College, because I find the cuts of meat we get vary greatly from what we see in our manuals, which is fine with me especially when we get better cuts than the recipe calls for.  It just means adjusting your cooking times really and treating the particular cut with the appropriate manner of love.

Also, today was a small class, so we got an extra half a portion of meat each, which meant my meal for 3 could be stretched to lunch for 6 tomorrow when my parents are here.  Whew!  I hadn`t even started thinking about tomorrow yet.  Whoops.

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound beef tenderloin tips or medallions
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup Beef Demi Glace
1 to 1/2 cups Beef or Veal Stock

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

3-4 Gherkin pickles, very thinly sliced

Heat oil and butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add beef medallions and cook for 2 minutes per side or until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add onions and sauté until golden brown.  Add mushrooms, gherkins and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.  Add demiglace and stock to sauce.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Right before serving add sour cream and mustard back into the sauce and combine.  Add meat back in to sauce to warm slightly, but do not boil as the sour cream may separate.

Serve on top of a bed of buttered egg noodles, sprinkled with parlsey.