People who love to cook often love to cook for other people, and the more comfortable and creative we get, the more adventurous we become with cooking for the ones we love. We start to tweak and mash recipes together in an effort to create something new, hoping that one of them will rise above and be a new favorite. I do this for Nate frequently; I’m always on the search for something that will become his new favorite recipe (unseating my homemade gnocchi’s top spot is no easy feat), and recently I struck gold: pure umami gold.

This stroganoff recipe isn’t too far removed from all the usual suspects you’ll see floating all over the internet, but I will say that it has a twist. The mushrooms are submerged and simmered in sherry wine and broth to draw out more of their flavor into the sauce, and it’s finished with soy sauce and red miso added to the sour cream to boost its savory flavor even further.

Note: This recipe can be easily made vegetarian if desired. Omit the beef and beef broth and include a handful of dried mushrooms to it instead. When you rehydrate the mushrooms in water, use the leftover quick broth to add to the confit. The sauce will turn out earthy, woodsy, and delicious.

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff with Red Miso:

• 1 lb of ground beef

• 4 Tbs butter

• 1/2 lb of wild mushrooms, left whole if small, halved or quartered if larger.
  Note: Use any kind of mushrooms you like. Personally, we love shiitakes when we can get them, but creminis or button mushrooms are still delicious mushrooms to use for this recipe.

• 1 large shallot, minced

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup of sherry

• 1/2 cup of beef broth (or mushroom/vegetable broth)

• 1 Tbs red miso

• 1 Tbs soy sauce

• 1/2 Tbs dijon mustard

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1/2 cup of sour cream

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 8 oz of dried egg noodles
  Note: Store bought noodles are fine for this, but we love making the noodles from scratch using our noodle recipe. A whole batch produces about a pound of pasta, which is perfect for this recipe.

• About 1/2 cup of reserved noodle water

• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

• Paprika for garnish

In a large, deep sauce pan (we always use our cast iron skillet), cook the ground beef in a little bit of oil over medium high heat, then remove the beef from the pan once it’s all cooked through. Don’t worry about browning the meat since it’ll be cooked a little more later. Set aside.

In the same pan over medium high heat, melt the butter, then add the mushrooms. Allow the mushrooms to sear and become golden by not stirring them frequently. While the mushrooms cook, put a pot of water to boil. Once the majority of the mushroom flesh is golden in color, add your shallots and garlic to the pan and sauté until the shallots just become translucent. Deglaze the pan by adding all of the sherry and broth. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and the alcohol to cook off.

If using dry noodles, start boiling them about 10–12 minutes before the mushrooms finish cooking. If using fresh noodles, keep in mind that fresh pasta cooks way faster, you’ll want to time this step later to make sure your noodles don’t sit out and stick together.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red miso, soy sauce, dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce until everything is smooth and the miso is evenly incorporated. Add the sour cream to this mixture and whisk everything together. Once your sauce has simmered and reduced appropriately, reduce your heat to medium low and add the sour cream mixture to your pan. Stir the sauce together and let it simmer for a few more minutes while you taste the sauce and add salt along with a liberal amount of freshly ground black pepper. If you are cooking this recipe with beef, add it back into the pan as well. While the sour cream is bonding with the sauce is the perfect time to start cooking your fresh pasta if that’s what you’re using.

Once your noodles are done cooking, strain them out and reserve about a cup of the cooking water. Remove your stroganoff sauce from the heat and add the noodles to the pan along with the chopped parsley. Gently stir and fold the noodles into the sauce, making sure that all the noodles get covered in it. The sauce will thicken up a lot during this process, so add splashes of your pasta water to the pan to loosen it up. By the end, everything should be evenly incorporated and the sauce should have a somewhat loose and velvety texture. Serve immediately with a little more freshly ground black pepper along with a dusting of paprika.

Serves 4.