I love beef stroganoff. Maybe some people think this is a throwback dish, an anachronism, an entree for old people. Well, maybe. But the combination of meat, mushrooms, sour cream and onions is iconic and memorable. So beef stroganoff, I am declaring, has a PLACE IN CULINARY HISTORY.
Instead of making this about filet mignon (my favorite meat for beef stroganoff but expensive for sure), I am going to use a nice, lean ground beef. Laura’s Lean Beef is always my choice for meatloaf and if you can get it in your area, I highly recommend it. Ground turkey also makes a great meatloaf when you add all the nice juicy mushrooms, onions, carrots, celery and some milk to hold it all together.
Once I was thinking about the meatloaf in a stroganoff style, my mind jumped to a nice accompaniment in keeping with my Russian theme. I love Russian salad on its own. It’s a great combination of little cubes of different vegetables that looks appetizing and tastes just delicious. So, I was thinking, why not put the Russian salad ON the meatloaf as a topping and change things up a bit?
I start the Russian salad first by roasting the potatoes, onions and beets and separately, the carrot sticks.
While the vegetables for the salad are roasting, I make the meatloaf. I start with a meatloaf “base” (similar to what I do with turkey burgers to give them moistness) consisting of a mirepoix (celery, carrots and onions sautéed in olive oil), breadcrumbs, an egg and sour cream. It all comes together easily in the food processor.
Once the base is made, I saute the mushrooms separately over high heat so they will maintain their texture in the meatloaf. If you like a lot of texture in your meatloaf, you don’t have to grind the sautéed mirepoix in the food processor but instead you can cook the mushrooms with the carrot mixture and just put it all in the meat with the breadcrumbs.
Seasoning the meatloaf should be in keeping with the stroganoff theme so there must be thyme and nutmeg. Maybe I made that up but these do add so much to the overall dish. Nutmeg with sour cream is always a winner. Nutmeg with anything creamy (béchamel sauces in particular) is just a match meant to be. I have a nutmeg grater that belonged to my grandmother. The top is falling off and it seems a bit rusty but I can’t bring myself to replace it. So there you have it. Nutmeg graters also are the things of memories………it’s a MEtirement thing I guess. Getting older, having more time to think and dwell in the past. This is not a negative thing. The past is not as far back anymore because, I am afraid to admit it but time is now more compressed.
I prefer to make the meatloaf a day ahead and let it sit in the fridge to hang out and blend.
When I take the vegetables out of the oven, I chop the potatoes, carrots and beets and into small cubes, mix them while still warm with vinegar and salt, and refrigerate them overnight also.
When ready to cook, I take the meatloaf out of the fridge an hour ahead of time along with the vegetables. I bake the meatloaf uncovered and, while it is cooking, I chop the cucumbers and dill and make the sour cream dressing for the potato salad.
The meatloaf should rest for 15 minutes out of the oven so all the juices can go back in it the loaf and keep it company. The Russian salad can go on the side or on top of the sliced meatloaf depending on whether you and your family like your food mixed together or not. When my son was little, no food on the plate could touch any other food. Just another memory. Blogging does that to me!
I hope you enjoy your little culinary visit to Russia.
Meatloaf Stroganoff Style with Russian Salad
The combination of a nice warm meatloaf with a cold vegetable salad unusual but quite tasty. And different. Surprise your family with a trip to Russia!
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped with 1/3 c. reserved for roasting potatoes and beets for salad
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 6 carrots 4 chopped and 2 cut into sticks for the salad
- 6 stalks celery chopped
- 8 oz. mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 c. fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. freshly ground black better
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3/4 c. sour cream reduced fat is fine
- 1 t. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/3 c. milk whole or 2%
- 2 T. fresh thyme leaves or 1 T. dried and rubbed between your fingers
For the Russian Salad
- 3 large beets washed, trimmed and quartered but not peeled
- 3 large yellow gold potatoes unpeeled, washed and cut into pieces the size of the beets
- reserved onion from the meatloaf
- reserved carrot sticks
- 1-1/2 T. olive oil divided
- 3 T. white balsamic vinegar I like Trader Joe's brand
- 1/2 t. salt
For the Salad Dressing
- 3/4 c. sour cream
- 1/3 c. mayonnaise preferably Hellman's
- 1/3 c. dill finely chopped
- 1-1/2 t. white horseradish optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 T white balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Meatloaf
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The day before you are planning to serve the meatloaf, begin making the mirepoix by sautéing, in a large frying pan the onions carrots, garlic, and celery over medium heat. Once the vegetables are soft and translucent (about 12 minutes), set them aside to cool.
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In the meantime, in a large bowl combine the ground beef and breadcrumbs. You can either put the sautéed vegetables in a food processor and pulse them until they are puréed (or finely chopped if you want more texture) or you can just skip the food processor and leave them intact.
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If you are processing the vegetables, add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, eggs, sour cream, nutmeg, milk and thyme to the food processor. If you leave the vegetables whole, combine all of the ingredients in the bowl with the meat and mix well while you sauté the mushrooms.
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Over high heat, in the same pan you have used to sauté the vegetables, sauté thinly sliced mushrooms in the oil remaining in the pan. You do not give want the mushrooms to give up their juices but rather, you are looking for a dry sear. You want them to be brown and crispy, not soggy. Let them cool before adding them to the meat mixture.
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Scoop up the mixture from the bowl and place in a greased loaf pan (10x7x2). I prefer a glass loaf pan. Cover the meatloaf with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
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Remove meat and salad ingredients from the refrigerator an hour before you are planing on baking the meatloaf.
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Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake in the middle of the oven for one hour or until a meat thermometer registers 135°.
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Remove the pan from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Carefully drain off all of the juices and turn the loaf pan upside down onto a large platter. Slice and serve in large slices with the Russian salad on top or on the side.
Russian Salad
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In a large baking pan, toss the quartered potatoes and beets with one tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Bake, lightly covered with foil at 400° for one hour.
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Ten minutes before the potatoes and beets are done roasting, toss the carrot sticks with the remaining half a tablespoon of olive oil and bake them for 10 minutes on a small sheet pan until they are crisp-tender.
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Dice the potatoes, carrots and beets (discard the onion) into a small one inch dice. While they are still warm, sprinkle the vinegar and salt over the vegetables and toss lightly. At this point, the vegetables can be refrigerated overnight and removed from the refrigerator an hour before the meatloaf is cooked.
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When ready to serve, add the chopped cucumber to the salad.
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In a medium-size bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, dill, horseradish, salt and pepper and the white balsamic vinegar. Toss with the vegetables, garnish with some fresh dill and serve with the meatloaf.