Classic beef stroganoff makes a return

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For those of you who are fascinated by culinary history, this is the story of beef stroganoff. According to John Ayto in "An A to Z of Food and Drink" (Oxford University Press), "The recipe, which is of Russian origin, has been known since the eighteenth century, but its name appears to come from Count Paul Stroganoff, a 19th-century Russian diplomat. Legend has it that when he was stationed in deepest Siberia, his chef discovered that the beef was frozen so solid that it could only be coped with by cutting it into very thin strips. The first English cookery book to include it seems to have been Ambrose Heath's Good Food (1932)."

I did not know those facts when I decided to try making this dish as a freshman in college. It sounded yummy and pretty easy to make. I prepared it from the "Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook" — my first. I didn't know that adding sour cream and heating it can sometimes have unpleasant consequences. It can curdle, but if you add flour and don't boil the sauce, you will have a deliciously creamy sauce. I made that dish for years — and then it fell out of fashion. Creamy sauces were out.

Recently I prepared this for a group of friends and realized it belongs on the table again. It is as delicious as ever.

The key to enjoying dishes like this is smaller portions and using less cream. This recipe uses a scant 1/3 cup of creme fraiche for 6 people.

Today, many of us prefer dishes grilled with light sauces and marinades, but there are times when a dish like beef stroganoff is just the ticket. I have made a few changes in this recipe that reflect my love for leeks and the brown cremini mushrooms. Slightly browned and caramelized leeks and mushrooms are the flavoring for the tender strips of beef.

Tomato paste, Dijon mustard and a big squirt of lemon juice balance out the beef broth and creme fraiche. I prefer using creme fraiche for this because it has a mild, sweet yet slightly nutty flavor and has less of a chance of curdling when heated. Sour cream is an option.

Serve this on a bed of wide egg noodles in a shallow soup bowl for a pretty presentation.

I like to begin this menu with a salad of butter lettuce and shavings of Parmesan cheese and thinly sliced pears in a lemon vinaigrette. Serve sliced French bread on the side. If you want a green vegetable, a side of braised spinach leaves would be lovely. Accompany this with a Rhone red wine such as syrah or try a cabernet sauvignon.

Help is on the way:

• For an even lighter version, try this with strips of chicken or turkey instead of the beef.