# Canned Beef & Mushroom Stroganoff

A creamy stovetop stroganoff built to use up the 500g of brown chestnut
mushrooms and a pile of fresh veg, while clearing the bulkiest items out of
TB-17: three tins of ZEL kavurma (roasted beef in fat — essentially beef confit,
ideal here since it's already cooked). Now made properly with fresh sour cream
and mustard, served over rice or instant potato puree.

> ⚠️ **Safety first — TB-17 is the expired/rusty box.** The kavurma tins are the
> only expired item left in this recipe. Before using any tin: no bulging lid, no
> hiss/spurt when opening, no off or sour smell, no rust *through* the seam. If a
> tin fails any of these, bin it — cooking does not make a compromised can safe.
> The kavurma is the lower-risk one (clean tins, just past date).

## Ingredients

**From inventory:**
- [ ] 3 tins ZEL Et Kavurma roasted beef `ID:zel-et-kavurma` (TB-17, bb:2025-12-11) ⚠️ expired — quality check before use
- [ ] ~150–200g sour cream `ID:sour-cream-2026-06-18` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-29) — Заквасена сметана 20%
- [ ] 500g brown chestnut mushrooms `ID:mushrooms-2026-06-16` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-22)
- [ ] 1 medium (~150g) onion `ID:onion-2026-06-16` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-07-15)
- [ ] 2–3 cloves garlic `ID:garlic-2026-06-13` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-07-31)
- [ ] 1 small fresh pepper `ID:peppers-red-2026-06-16` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-23)
- [ ] ½ jar Bulgarian paprika/tomato sauce `ID:sauce-paprika-jar-bg` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-03-13) ⚠️ expired — it's a pepper sauce, so it makes up for having only one fresh pepper
- [ ] 1–2 tsp mustard `ID:mustard-hryan-2026-06-18` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-11-05) — Горчица с хрян (mustard with horseradish; adds tang + a little kick)
- [ ] small bunch parsley `ID:parsley-2026-06-13` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-20)
- [ ] squeeze of lime `ID:lime-2026-06-18` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-07-01:EST) — to brighten the sauce (no lemon in stock; lime works)
- [ ] ~20g butter `Pilos НЕМСКО МАСЛО 250G` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-30)
- [ ] 1.5 tbsp wheat flour `ID:flour-greek` (F-02, bb:2027:EST)
- [ ] 1 tsp sweet paprika `ID:paprika-sweet-kania` (F-13, bb:2027:EST)
- [ ] splash sunflower oil `ID:sunfloweroil-seta` (pantry-spice-stove, bb:2027:EST)
- [ ] salt, black pepper (spice rack)

**Staple — pick one:**
- [ ] ~250g parboiled rice (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-08-01) — *open bag, use this first*, OR
- [ ] 2–3 portions instant potato puree `ID:potato-puree-lidl` (food2-box, bb:2027-02) — the no-effort option

**Preparation needed:**
- [ ] None — no soaking/thawing. Just do all the chopping before the pan goes on (see step 2).

## Equipment

Boat (Solveig): all stovetop, one large frying pan or shallow pot — no oven,
blender or microwave needed. If serving over rice, start the rice first in a
separate pot; if using instant potato puree, make it at the very end while the
sauce rests.

## Instructions

1. **Start the staple.** If using rice: rinse ~250g parboiled rice, cook per
   packet (parboiled is usually ~12–15 min), then keep covered off the heat. If
   using potato puree, leave it for step 8.
2. **Prep everything before heating the pan** (the cooking goes fast once it
   starts): slice the 500g mushrooms; dice 1 medium (~150g) onion; mince 2–3
   garlic cloves; deseed and slice the small fresh pepper; chop the parsley. Open
   the 3 kavurma tins, drain off most of the fat (reserve ~1 tbsp), and break the
   beef into bite-size chunks.
3. **Sweat the onion.** Heat ~1 tbsp reserved kavurma fat (or a splash of
   sunflower oil) in the pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook
   ~5 min until soft and translucent.
4. **Brown the mushrooms.** Add the minced garlic and all 500g sliced mushrooms.
   Cook 8–10 min, stirring occasionally — they'll release water, then dry out and
   start to brown. Don't rush this; the browning is the flavour.
5. **Peppers in.** Add the sliced fresh pepper and cook 3–4 min until it softens
   slightly but keeps some bite. (The ½ jar of paprika/tomato sauce goes in with
   the liquid at step 7.)
6. **Make the roux.** Push the veg to one side, drop in ~20g butter, let it melt,
   sprinkle over 1.5 tbsp flour and 1 tsp sweet paprika. Stir into a paste and
   cook ~1 min to lose the raw-flour taste.
7. **Beef + sauce.** Add the kavurma beef chunks, the ½ jar of paprika/tomato
   sauce and ~100ml water, stirring to lift the roux off the base. Once it
   thickens, lower the heat and stir in ~150–200g sour cream plus 1–2 tsp
   mustard. Simmer gently 5–8 min — **do not hard-boil after the sour cream goes
   in** or it can split. Loosen with a splash more water if too thick.
8. **(If potato puree)** Make 2–3 portions now per packet while the sauce rests.
9. **Finish.** Off the heat, season with salt and black pepper, a squeeze of
   lime to brighten, and stir in most of the parsley. Taste and add more mustard
   or lime for tang. Serve over the rice or potato puree, scatter the rest of the
   parsley on top.

## Variations

> **Note:** This is now close to a traditional stroganoff — pre-cooked kavurma
> confit beef in a sour-cream sauce, with mustard and a squeeze of lime for tang.
> The mustard here is горчица с хрян (mustard with horseradish), so it brings a
> little extra heat on top of the tang; add it gradually to taste.

> **Note:** Kavurma is fatty and salted already, and the paprika jar is seasoned
> too, so go easy on added fat and salt until you've tasted at the end.

## Items used from inventory

| Item | ID | Location | Status |
|------|-----|----------|--------|
| ZEL kavurma roasted beef ×3 | zel-et-kavurma | TB-17 | EXPIRED bb:2025-12-11 |
| Sour cream 20% | sour-cream-2026-06-18 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-29 |
| Paprika/tomato sauce jar ½ | sauce-paprika-jar-bg | pantry-fridge | EXPIRED bb:2026-03-13 |
| Mustard (with horseradish) | mustard-hryan-2026-06-18 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-11-05 |
| Chestnut mushrooms 500g | mushrooms-2026-06-16 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-22 |
| Onion | onion-2026-06-16 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-07-15 |
| Garlic | garlic-2026-06-13 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-07-31 |
| Fresh pepper (1 small) | peppers-red-2026-06-16 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-23 |
| Parsley | parsley-2026-06-13 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-20 |
| Lime | lime-2026-06-18 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-07-01:EST |
| Butter | (Pilos НЕМСКО МАСЛО) | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-30 |
| Flour | flour-greek | F-02 | bb:2027:EST |
| Sweet paprika | paprika-sweet-kania | F-13 | bb:2027:EST |
| Sunflower oil | sunfloweroil-seta | pantry-spice-stove | bb:2027:EST |
| Parboiled rice (or potato puree) | — / potato-puree-lidl | pantry-behind-stove / food2-box | bb:2026-08-01 / bb:2027-02 |

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*Generated 2026-06-18 to use up 500g chestnut mushrooms + fresh veg and clear the bulkiest tins from TB-17 (3× kavurma). Revised 2026-06-19: real sour cream + mustard bought, rusty evaporated milk dropped, peppers reduced to one small + ½ paprika jar, lemon swapped for lime.*