from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
French menus may offer Bœuf Stroganoff,
Bœuf Stroganov, Emincé de Bœuf Stroganoff, or Filet de Bœuf Façon Stroganov.
English language menus may offer Beef Stroganoff or Beef Stroganov.
Despite this dish’s Russian name, its creation would seem to be distinctly French. Thin slices of beef are cut from the fillet and
accompanied by fried onions and mushrooms
prepared in butter. The dish is then covered with white wine, paprika, and crème fraiche sauce lightly flavored with mustard and served with rice or thin dumplings on the side.
One look at the ingredients in the dish
noted above, and you see France written all over the recipe; however, the chef
who created this dish did not leave his signature. The arguments over the
origins of this dish point to Russian cooking methods
that are very different.
An otherwise very knowledgeable French
Maitre D’ advised me that this dish was named for a famous Russian diplomat,
Count Pavel Stroganoff, in 1890. However, when I checked up on Count Pavel
Stroganoff, I discovered that this renowned member of the Stroganoff family
died in 1817; that would have been long before the dish was created.
French chefs only became important for the Russian aristocracy after
Csar Alexander I hired that most famous of French chefs Antonin
Carême in 1817. After that date the most probable Stroganov to hire a
French chef and have a dish name after himself was Sergei Grigoriyevich
Stroganov (1794–1882). Sergei Stroganov
founded the Moscow Arts and Industrial Institute in 1825 and was the governor-general of Moscow from 1859 to 1860. He seems the most suitable candidate.
Unfortunately, I cannot find out who his chef was.
Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov (1794–1882)
By the 1870s, there were no male Stroganoffs outside of the royal family to carry on the name, so Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov probably does hold the honor of Beef Stroganoff.
Today’s French chefs use crème fraiche
while modern Russian recipes indicate the use of sour cream. Sour cream is not
available in every French supermarket; just as crème fraiche is rarely seen in
Russia and would have been completely
unavailable in the 1800s.
French chef’s working in Russia one hundred and fifty years ago would
have used sour cream. When they returned home in the absence of sour cream, the
traditional crème fraiche would have been used.
Inside the Stroganoff Palace.
St Petersburg, Russia.
www.flickr.com/photos/43547009@N00/26656647604/
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