Stroganoff with Beef Meatballs

Dinner March 10, 2025

Made 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

1⅓ pounds Ground Beef

2 slices of bread

1 large Egg

1 small Yellow Onion

2 teaspoons Paprika

2 teaspoons Smoked Paprika

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground Black Pepper

~ 3 tablespoons Butter

¼ pound Spinach

1½ pounds Cremini Mushrooms

Flour

Whole Milk

8 oz Sour Cream

12oz Egg Noodles

Directions:

Mince the bread and onion, rinse and slice the mushrooms, and rinse and cut the spinach into thin strips.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine: ground beef, bread, egg, onion, and one teaspoon each: paprika, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix with your hands but don't overwork.

Pinch off about a teaspoon of raw mixture, set on a plate, and microwave on high-power for 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Form into balls using 2 tablespoons of the raw mixture, should make about 20 meatballs.

Over medium heat, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a pat of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the meatballs, brown on all sides, and then remove from skillet. The meatballs do not need to be fully cooked yet.

Add another pat of butter to the skillet and the sliced mushrooms, cook until they release all their moisture and then remove from skillet to the same plate/bowl as the meatballs.

Over low heat, add just enough flour to absorb all the grease left in the skillet and form a paste. Slowly whisk in just enough milk to create a béchamel sauce with the thickness of pancake batter.

Add sour cream and one teaspoon each to the sauce: paprika, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Then add the spinach and cook till wilted. Add the meatballs and mushrooms to the sauce, occasionally turn and cook until meatballs reach an internal temperature of at least 130°F (55°C). Thin out the sauce as needed with more milk or starchy noodle water.

Add noodles to boiling water (85g dry noodles per serving) and cook.

Serve stroganoff and meatballs over noodles.

Final Notes:

Pretty happy with how this all turned out.

Reheats much better on the stove than the microwave. Maybe add a little more liquid before microwaving if that's how you're going to heat up left-overs.

Stroganoff with beef meatballs, mushrooms, and spinach