Stroganoff with Pickled Cucumbers & Honey

Another delicious Scandinavian recipe, this time from my beloved author Tessa Kiros. I love that woman, I really do. The way she weaves magic with her words and recipes... well I think I'd better stop now or I'll get totally carried away!

Anyway, this is a stroganoff, like, according to Tessa, "my mother's friend Ritva" used to make it. Now, I don't know Ritva, but judging by this recipe I wish I did! I must admit I was at first a little bit skeptical of the honey listed as an ingredient, not to mention the 2 hour cooking time. Can you say "way-too-much-effort"? But it's not. You just pop it into the oven and then you sit back while the wonderful aromas envelop you. I tell you, I was drooling before the meat even left the oven. Needless to say, I wanted to slurp it up as soon as possible, but alas, I will have to wait for tomorrow lunchtime. Of course, I couldn't help myself, so I took a quick bite and let me just say - this Ritva lady sure knows what she's doing!

Lunch can't come quick enough...

I'm submitting this to the Regional Recipe Round-up for October, hosted by Eats Well With Others and originally created by Blazing Hot Wok.

Stroganoff with Pickled Cucumbers & Honey

Adapted from Falling Cloudberries (Tessa Kiros)

Serves 4

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

2 small onions, diced

800g lean chuck steak, cut into cubes

3 tbsp honey

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp paprika

1 bayleaf

2 cups water

3 tbsp flour

120g pickled cucumbers, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

250g dry tagliatelle

1. Heat oil and butter in a medium saucepan and saute onion until soft.

2. Add meat, cooking until browned on all sides.

3. Add honey, salt, pepper, paprika and bayleaf and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Pour water over, cover and bake for 2 hours at 180C.

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, keep aside.

5. Remove meat from oven, and mix flour to a paste with a ladleful or two of the meat's juices. Add to saucepan, along with meat. Add cucumbers and cook until slightly thickened. Stir sour cream through and serve atop a bed of tagliatelle.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 640.1, Total fat 22.1 g, Saturated fat 9.5 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.9 g, Monounsaturated fat 8.4 g, Cholesterol 145.2 mg, Sodium 562.3 mg, Potassium 777.6 mg, Total carbohydrate 61.3 g, Dietary fiber 2.8 g, Sugars 15.2 g, Protein 48.3 g

Good source of: Vitamin B12 129.8 %, Zinc 80.6 %, Selenium 48.9 %, Vitamin B6 44.8 %, Phosphorus 41.5 %, Iron 29.2 %, Riboflavin 27.2 %, Niacin 24.9 %,