Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / NaBloPoMo 2007 / If life gives you leftover roast lamb, make lamb Stroganoff!

If life gives you leftover roast lamb, make lamb Stroganoff!

by Jeanne Horak on November 23, 2007 18 Comments in Leftovers, Main course - meat, NaBloPoMo 2007

lamb-stroganoff

One of the great things about winter is that all of a sudden I have develop a craving for hearty stews and chunky roast joints of meat.  Somehow, these just don’t seem to be appropriate in the summer, but as soon as the weather turns chillier they take on a whole new appeal.

Apart from their general deliciousness, there is also the ease-of-cooking aspect, because in both cases the long and slow cooking time means that I get to pop something in the oven, go upstairs, take a bath, have a glass of wine, check e-mails and all of a sudden dinner is ready!  Like magic.

Last week, one of the more comforting meals we had was Nigel Slater’s wonderful slow-roast lamb on chickpea mash (soon to be blogged!).  This meant that for most of the week, there has been a giant lamb bone with the last of the meat clinging to it sitting in my fridge, daring me to make something with it.  Now if it were summer, I would probably have been making lamb and chutney sandwiches for work every day, but seeing as it’s pretty chilly out there, I’ve been gorging on soups from EAT instead.  Because we are going away this weekend, though, my mind has recently become more sharply attuned to what’s in the fridge and how I can use it up.  Hmm, let’s see… leftover roast lamb, half a punnet of chestnut mushrooms, some cream…  Bingo!  Lamb Stroganoff!

Of course, the classic dish is beef Stroganoff (traditionalists, avert your eyes!), a recipe usually accepted to have Russian origins and containing beef, sour cream and mushrooms.  It seems that there was a 19th century Russian noble called Count Pavel Stroganoff who was something of a gourmet and a bon viveur.  The name of the dish is generally attributed to him allegedly because either he or his chef came up with the recipe.  But since a recipe by this name appeared in Elena Molokhovets’s classic Russian cookbook in 1861, well before his reputation as a gourmet had developed, it seems more likely that the recipe had been in the Stroganoff family for years and became well-known through Pavel’s entertaining. (Incidentally, the 1861 version calls for beef cubes, rather than strips, cooked with bouillon and mustard – no onions and no mushrooms.)

Seeing as I chucked tradition out of the window when I started cutting up the cooked lamb instead of raw beef (!), I guess I have some leeway as to the ingredients, but I tried to stick to the meat-cream-mushroom formula.  And it turned out pretty damn well, even if I say so myself. NOTE – as I was making this up as I went, quantities may not be exact.  Increase or decrease as you see fit.

 

lamb Stroganoff

 

LEFTOVER LAMB STROGANOFF (serves 2-3)

Ingredients

Leftover roast lamb – about 2 cups, cubed  (or 400g raw lamb, cubed)
12 (approx) chestnut mushrooms
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
100ml cream
25g butter
2 Tbsp flour
a splash of sherry
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup lamb stock
salt & pepper to taste

Method

Cube the lamb, crush the garlic and slice the onions and mushrooms.  Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and sautée together the onions, garlic and lamb.  If the lamb is cooked like mine, sautée the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, then add the lamb to heat through.  Add the mushrooms at the very end – they need minimal cooking.

Once the mushrooms, onions, lamb and garlic are done, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and keep warm.  Stir the flour into the pan juices, stirring to pick up any bits sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Cook for a minute or two, then add a splash of sherry (optional), the paprika and rosemary, followed by the stock.  Mix well and remove from heat before adding the cream, stirring all the time to prevent lumps.  Return to heat and stir to get a smooth csauce. (If the sauce is too thick, add a little milk to thin it.)

Stir the lamb, onion and mushroom mix into the sauce, heat through and serve on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.  And, in my case, with gem squash on the side!

Follow me every day in November as I complete National Blog Posting Month – a post a day, every day, for 30 days! Here are all my NaBloPoMo ’07 posts so far.

More deliciousness for you!

  • Individual beef & Guinness pot piesIndividual beef & Guinness pot pies
  • One-pan breakfast hash for a lazy weekendOne-pan breakfast hash for a lazy weekend
  • Cheat’s risotto (for very lazy or very hungry people!)Cheat’s risotto (for very lazy or very hungry people!)
  • Boeuf Bourguignon for a happy new year – and a snowy dayBoeuf Bourguignon for a happy new year – and a snowy day

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Vivat Bacchus (Farringdon)
Couldn’t-be-easier butternut squash bake »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Pille says

    November 23, 2007 at 7:42 pm

    I had been eating stroganoff for over two decades, and it was only when I moved to the UK (temporarily for 7 long years) I came across a version including mushrooms! Intriguing, how recipes travel across borders 🙂
    (I’m not complaining, of course, being a huge fan of mushrooms)

    Reply
  2. Katie says

    November 23, 2007 at 8:40 pm

    I won’t even tell you what the first stroganoff I had consisted of….but, hint: it involved opening cans…..
    This sound lovely – and a perfect use for the leftover lamb….one can’t always make risotto…. And perfect with that little squash!

    Reply
  3. ejm says

    November 24, 2007 at 12:09 am

    I’ve never been a fan of lamb but that stroganov looks awfully good! Whenever we are about to serve stroganov (beef) I can never decide if it would be better with mashed potatoes or with egg noodles tossed in butter and poppyseeds (whichever one of those we choose is always my favourite…).
    That squash looks beautiful!
    -Elizabeth
    P.S. That’s really interesting, Pille. I always thought that mushrooms were an essential ingredient in stroganov.

    Reply
  4. Pam says

    November 24, 2007 at 3:08 am

    That looks wonderful!

    Reply
  5. Chris says

    November 25, 2007 at 1:52 am

    I just read a recipe for Beef Stroganoff and was thinking about other proteins to use the recipe with. The thought of Lamb is lovely! Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Pille says

    November 25, 2007 at 11:23 am

    Elizabeth – the only must-have ingredients in a classic stroganoff are beef, onions and smetana/sour cream. Mushrooms seem to be the most popular addition outside the former Soviet Union, for sure, but potatoes or pickled cucumbers can be used, too. There are as many recipes as there are stroganoff-makers:)

    Reply
  7. ejm says

    November 27, 2007 at 10:15 am

    I know I shouldn’t be surprised, Pille; I should have realized there would be zillions of variations on stroganov (I just can’t get my fingers to type “stroganoff” :-D)
    Wow, it looks like the only essential ingredients are beef and sour cream:
    excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_Stroganoff
    ………………………………………..
    Elena Molokhovets’ classic Russian cookbook (1861) gives the first known recipe for Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju “Beef Stroganov with mustard” which involves lightly floured beef cubes (not strips) sautéed, sauced with prepared mustard and bouillon, and finished with a small amount of sour cream: no onions, no mushrooms.
    ………………………………………
    The wikipedia article also says that the classic Russian accompaniment is crisp potato straws. That sounds good!! And in America, it’s rice or noodles. (Oh oh. Now I’ll have FOUR things to choose for a favourite with stroganov!)
    -Elizabeth
    P.S. I love the internet! Look what I just found: http://www.foodtimeline.org/

    Reply
  8. Webutante says

    November 29, 2007 at 10:28 pm

    A deliciously savory post (Greenman Tim brought me here).
    If you have any leftover chicken and sausage, you might want to try this:
    http://sisu.typepad.com/sisu/2007/09/succulent-slice.html

    Reply
  9. Port Lamb says

    April 30, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    Looks really delicious..
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viva-Magazine-Your-Premium-Womens-Natural-Health-Magazine/262734921452?ref=ts

    Reply
  10. Diana says

    February 7, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    It wsounds like a great recipe (which I am trying) but you don’t mention when to add the paprika & rosemary!
    Comments please

    Reply
  11. Fat Gary says

    March 20, 2012 at 9:33 am

    Hi! I tried this last night and it was fantastic! I added a really small amount of tomato paste and a bay leaf, and served with fettucine. Lovely!

    Reply
  12. gemma says

    November 2, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    That looks amazing might make it for tea tonight

    Reply
  13. M says

    January 2, 2017 at 3:35 am

    Was much too creamy for us and lacked the “bite” that sour cream usually lends. Nice texture but not much flavor.

    Reply
  14. Rosemary says

    September 23, 2017 at 9:16 am

    Thank you for the recipe. I was looking for something different to do with leftover lamb other than shepherds pie. Will make tonight.

    Reply
  15. Loraine says

    April 9, 2018 at 7:04 pm

    I have a chunk of Lamb left over from Easter! Yay me! Making lamb stroganoff!

    Reply
  16. John says

    August 13, 2019 at 11:08 am

    Thanks for the recipe. If I can suggest a couple of variations, I go for sour cream and also cook the mushrooms well down before sauteing the onions etc. Remove them from the pan first and reincorporate later.

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
Things to do in Kitzbühel if you don't ski
My big, fat South African potato bake

Featured on

Also available on

Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Looking for a brilliant biryani near Marble Arch? Looking for a brilliant biryani near Marble Arch? I recently enjoyed a feast at Biryani Kebab Chai @bkc.restaurant on Edgeware Road, including wonderful sweet, spicy and crunchy papri chaat; smoky burrah lamb kebab; galouti lamb patties; juicy chaap chicken thigh kebab; spicy chapli chicken patties; and the surprising vegetarian dahi ke patties made of yoghurt! We also tried the chicken and soya biryanis, both with incredibly fluffy and delicately spiced rice. You can get their biryanis as a 1kg takeaway, served in a beautiful branded clay pot that serves 3-4 people, for about £30. Bargain! We also took home a sample of their desserts, including a fragrant and delicious kheer rice pudding. If you are in the Marble Arch area, get yourself to BKC!  #invited #bkcrestaurants
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT