For those who aren’t in the know, I introduced Curious Davide, aka ‘the incredible sleeping man’, here. This is what he has to say about his second Curious Food post: “This is my own Stroganoff recipe, thrown together while I was watching Neighbours instead of going to Uni one day – it could be responsible for my 2.2, but it was worth it, cause it’s the nuts…”

Beef Stroganoff (Serves 4)

450g sirloin or rump steak, cut into strips
1 tbsp plain flour, seasoned
1 tbsp paprika
olive oil, for frying
2 onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
250g closed cup mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp brandy
2 tsp tomato purée
1 tsp Dijon mustard
300ml sour cream
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest, or to taste
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Buttered tagliatelle noodles or plain boiled rice, to serve

-  Toss the beef strips with the flour and paprika until evenly coated.
-  Heat the oil to high and fry the onions, garlic and mushrooms for 3 minutes.
-  Add the dusted beef strips and sauté until browned and nearly cooked through.
-  Add the brandy, light the pan and shake until the flames subside.
-  Turn down the heat a little and add the tomato purée, mustard and sour cream.
-  Heat through gently, check that the beef is cooked through and remove from the heat.
-  Stir in the lemon zest and season to taste.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley and scatter the rest on top.
-  Serve with tagliatelle or rice.

Tip – this can be done with pork fillet or chicken breast rather than beef if you prefer.

The wine match

Lager lout, Davide, used to enjoy nursing a cold beer while scoffing his Beef Straganoff in front of Dr. Karl Kennedy and co. Now, however, he is a reformed man (stag weekends apart), enjoying a glass of red or white with his evening meal.

I think Côtes du Rhône is a lovely suit for this type of food. They generally wouldn’t be too strong for something like this and most of the time they are well made, well balanced reds with pleasant red and black fruit flavours, sometimes even with a touch spice, complimenting this dish perfectly.

Our Darriaud Réserve Côtes du Rhône Villages is a lovely choice, and one of the wines included in our deluxe case of the month. Another Côtes du Rhône is from a man held in very high regard by Robert Parker. Patrick Lesec is one of the greats in Rhône winemaking. His Cuvée Richette is just a taste of what he can do at the higher end.

If you really want to treat yourself, move to Crozes-Hermitage AC and you’re in with the big boys. The Roland Betton Crozes-Hermitage 2005 is magnificent with or without food, but it’s not going to last forever as stocks are slowly dwindling.