Easy Teas - Beef Stroganoff

I grew up thinking stroganoff was a fairly brandy infused boozy affair, using only the finest fillet of beef, my mum's recipe, not mine, for treat dinners at the weekends.  Now adays, it's more a mid week meal for us, extravagent!  No, as a good bit of rump steak will do the trick just as nicely and there's no booze in it, who knew?  This recipe's a tweeked Rick Stein recipe, so good, too easy and accompanied by shove in the oven, chips, a really convenient school night supper.

Hastily taken picture, just before eating

Serves 2

375g Rump steak, cut against the grain, into 0.5cm strips
1tbsp unsalted butter
splash of rapeseed oil
Hot paprika to taste (I use, just under a tbsp)
175g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
150ml soured cream
Squeeze of lemon juice to taste
Salt
Pepper
Flat leaf parsley

Place the butter in a large heavy based frying pan and add your paprika with the onions and cook on a low heat until translucent and sweet.

Add the mushrooms and cook until they're just loosing their 'rawness', then transfer the mixture to a plate and keep warm.

Using the same pan, heat the rapeseed oil and brown the steak at a fairly high heat, making sure not to overcrowd the pan, you may need to do this in batches. 

Season the meat as you go, only cooking the beef for about a minute.  Take out of the pan to rest, meanwhile returning your onion mixture to the pan and pour in the soured cream, bring to the boil and simmer for another minute, though not too long as the sour cream tends to split.

Finally return the steak to the pan to heat through but not cook, add the lemon juice to your liking and add the flat leaf parsley.

Serve with the before mentioned oven chips, or make your own, if you're so inclined.

Restaurant Mark Greenaway

It’s been on my ‘must eat’ list for a good while now and how it’s taken me this long I’m not entirely sure. I suspect my mischievous and rather noisy 2 year old might have something to do with it. As a restaurant catering better for those without children in tow, I was delighted to become Lunchquests’ ‘special guest’, having bagged the 1000th follower spot on Twitter.

Mark Greenaway, at 35, has created quite a reputation for himself.  He has 3 AA rosettes under his belt, voted rising chef of the year in 2011, shortlisted for Restaurant of the Year 2012 and recently appeared on Great British Menu (for the second time).

Mark Greenaway’s’ restaurant now occupies what was formerly Librizzi’s.  Now with a clean, fresh make over, soothing blue walls, bistro chairs, vintage chandeliers and custom stainless steel, it has a very unfussy, laid back feel.  We dined on a particularly blustery day and there was a fair bit of whistling through the windows, a bit distracting but comes with the beauty of Edinburgh’s traditional sash and case windows.

Interior

Never one to pass up a soup course, Blythe ordered the Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute, velvety smooth and super shiny.  I didn’t get a taste but it seemed to tick all the soup experts’ boxes.  I was busying myself with my ham hough and pork ballotine, served with a beautifully sweet, seared scallop and tiny chewy apple meringues and a contrasting wild garlic mayonnaise, both in colour and taste.  This really was a stunning looking dish, with a taste that far surpassed its appearance.

Pork Balloutine

Our mains followed suit, with an impressive crispy, skinned, flaky, fleshed sea bream fillet accompanied by razor clams and butter sauce.  Blythe’s cauliflower risotto was as silky as expected with a soup like consistency, tiny nuggets of cauliflower and al dente rice.

I’m not normally one for desserts but was easily talked into the Peanut Caramel Cheesecake.  An almost infamous dessert that, like many of the dishes, has followed Mark from his previous home in  Picardy Place.  And rightly so!  A peanut butter wafer construction, surrounded by warm toffee sauce (poured at the table) with tempered chocolate, studded with roasted nuts, a dessert truly worth loosening the belt buckle for.  Blythe’s Rhubarb and Custard fishbowl was a more delicate affair.  Rhubarb sorbet was accompanied by tiny meringues, rhubarb compote, fluid gels and crisps, displaying a love of modern techniques, making for an interesting, palate cleansing close to a meal.

Dessert

We finished with good espressos which were delivered promptly so they were at the right temperature (lukewarm espressos are a pet hate of mine) and petit fours, which were yet another showcase of the kitchen’s talents with all things sweet. 

This really was a beautiful lunch, the time, consideration and construction of the dishes is something to be marvelled at, yet the flavours are simple, unfussy and complimentary.  The staff are efficient, friendly and clearly happy in their new location.  I hope Mark Greenaway’s’ flourishes to become a firm favourite in Edinburgh’s restaurant scene, it’s a new one in mine!

This review was written for Lunchquest, find the full review here....http://lunchquest.co.uk/2013/05/mark-greenaway-2/

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