Beef Stroganoff & Coquillettes (Pressure Cooker)

Trackalina's Note:

My husbands stepmother Fran gave me an industrial sized Alluminium Pressure Cooker when we bought our first home and I must admit to being abit baffled by it. It has since become one of my most treasured kitchen tools and is rarely off the hob. Using it for this recipe ensures lovely tender beef everytime, at a fraction of the time it would take in the oven. We love our Strog with pasta as opposed to the traditional rice, and find the mini Macaroni or Coquillettes work really well with it. :)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 200 g streaky bacon or 200 g pancetta, diced
• 29.58 ml olive oil
• 9.85 ml butter
• 4 medium onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 kg beef, sinew and fat removed and diced
• 14.79 ml plain flour
• 1.23 ml salt
• 2.46 ml fresh ground black pepper
• 200 ml beef stock
• 1 lemon juice
• 59.16 ml paprika
• 2 (460 g) can mushrooms, sliced
• 1000.0 ml mushroom soup
• 500 ml cream (Creme Fresh)
• 1 kg macaroni

Directions:

1. Fry off the diced Streaky Bacon (or Pancetta) in the Butter and a Olive Oil until just starting to colour.
2. Add the Onions and Garlic and cook until softened, stirring often.
3. Add the Beef and stir.
4. Sprinkle over the tablespoon of Flour, add 3 of the 4 tablespoons of Paprika (reserving 1 spoonful for presentation) and season with the Salt and Pepper - stir.
5. Squeeze your lemon juice into the pot through your hands catching any pips, or use a reamer.
6. Drain the tinned Mushrooms.
7. Add the Stock, Mushroom Soup and Sliced Mushrooms.
8. Add the Crème Fresh but keep back a couple of tablespoons for presentation.
9. Secure your lid and when the cooker gets up to pressure, cook for 30 minutes.
10. You can smell when it's ready, it is divine! Move your pot off the heat and turn of your hob. I always allow my pot to de-pressurise on its own, I don't try to rush it by taking the 'whistle' bit off otherwise I end up with Strog stuck to the bottom, but please, you follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your cooker as I'm sure they are all slightly different.
11. While the cooker is de-pressurising, get a big pan of water on the boil for the pasta and follow the instructions on the packet (or not, it says 5 to 6 minutes on the brand I buy, but it always takes more like 10!).
12. Serve Stroganoff on top of pasta in a bowl (like Spaghetti Bolognaise).
13. Put a dollop of the remaining Crème fresh in the middle of each bowl and a pinch of the remaining Paprika over that and around the sides for a bit of decoration.
14. Enjoy! :) p.s. This freezes really well if you don't have 12 people to feed!