Pork Stroganoff and Vegetarian Stroganoff

One of the small challenges I regularly face in the kitchen is that my lovely fiance is vegetarian and I only moonlight as one. It may sound like a difficult situation but it’s not. At all. For the most part it’s great – I experiment much more with nut recipes, legume recipes and soy product recipes than I normally would, and when I eat meat I try to always make something interesting, challenging or new. So you could say that it helps me to appreciate meat all the more than I used to.

When the moon is full and I crave something fleshy I am always amazed at how easy it is to make a meat-etarian and a vegetarian version of my chosen dish. The famous Russian stroganoff is no exception – simply sub meat for mushrooms. Below are both recipes, they take the exact same amount of time to prepare and the vegetarian version cost a couple of euros less to make.

Recipe: Spicy And Healthy Pork Stroganoff
Serves 1
(printable recipe)
Sunflower oil
1/2 large onion
1 clove garlic
100g cherry or small grape tomatoes
180g pork fillet
1/2 tsp spanish paprika
small pinch salt
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
25g cream cheese
70g natural yoghurt

Fry the chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened. Increase the heat, add the tomatoes (whole if small, or halved if a little larger) and cook for 2 minutes.  Cut the pork into thin strips and season with the paprika, salt and chilli.  Scatter the strips into the pan and cook for a few minutes.

Lower the heat and add the mustard followed by the cream cheese and yoghurt and simmer for 1 minutes before tasting and seasoning if needed.

Serve immediately. As is for a light meal; or with a slice of chiabatta bread or mash potato if you want a larger meal.

Recipe: Spicy And Healthy Mushroom Stroganoff
Serves 1
(printable recipe)
Sunflower oil
1/2 large onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
180g mushrooms
1/2 tsp spanish paprika
small pinch salt
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
100g cherry or small grape tomatoes
25g cream cheese
70g natural yoghurt

Fry the chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened. Increase the heat, add the tomatoes (whole is small, or halved if a little larger) and cook for 2 minutes.  Slice the mushrooms and season with the paprika, salt and chilli.  Scatter the pieces into the pan (in stages if needs be – don’t overcrowd the pan) and cook for a few minutes.

Lower the heat and add the mustard followed by the cream cheese and yoghurt and simmer for 1 minutes before tasting and seasoning if needed.

Serve immediately either alone, or with a slice of chiabatta bread or mash potato if you want a larger meal.

Photographs supplied by Pixelchicken (Food Photography Sydney), words by Oni Oost for This Little Green Book Food Blog.