Ballerina Farm’s Beef Stroganoff
Recipe from Hannah Neeleman
Adapted by Julia Moskin
This is a typical family dinner for Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm, who is raising eight children, tending sheep and chickens, and making almost everything her family eats from scratch on her dairy farm in Utah. In many ways, she’s a traditional Mormon farm wife; untraditionally, she broadcasts her daily life to 22 million followers on social media. This recipe uses lean beef and yogurt, both of which are in constant supply on the farm. The tangy sauce is great with any kind of fresh or egg noodles; of course, Neeleman makes her own. — Julia Moskin
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Total time: 1 3/4 hours
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter or neutral-tasting oil (such as vegetable or canola)
2 pounds sirloin or top loin, trimmed and cut into 1- to 2-inch-long strips
Salt and black pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups button mushrooms (about 6 ounces; see Tip), roughly cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup thick full-fat yogurt (such as Greek or Icelandic)
Freshly chopped herbs (such as parsley, thyme or tarragon)
Grated Parmesan or similar hard cheese (optional)
(Kim Raff | The New York Times) Hannah Neeleman stirs a pot of made-from-scratch beef stroganoff at her and her husband’s dairy farm, Ballerina Farm, in Kamas, Utah, Nov. 7, 2024. Neeleman’s picture-perfect life as a Mormon farm wife has made her a social media star and a cultural lightning rod.
Preparation:
1. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to a large, heavy pot and set heat to high. Season beef with salt and pepper, then work in about 3 batches to cook the pieces in the pot until browned (about 5 minutes per batch), adding another tablespoon of butter as needed; adjust heat accordingly to avoid scorching, if necessary. After each batch is browned, transfer to a bowl or plate.
2. After all the meat has been browned and transferred to a plate or bowl, adjust heat to medium-high and add the onion. Cook until browned, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add mushrooms and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Return the beef to the pot, sprinkle in the flour and stir until everything is thoroughly coated. Continue to cook for 2 minutes, giving a good stir after 1 minute.
5. Stir in the broth, bring to boil and adjust heat to low so the stroganoff simmers.
6. Stir in the mustard and Worcestershire, then cover and cook stroganoff until thickened and beef is tender, 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the cut of meat and tenderness desired.
7. Meanwhile, set a large pot of salted water to boil. When the stroganoff is almost done, drop the noodles into the boiling water and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes; drain. (Work in batches if necessary to keep the water at a rolling boil.)
8. Remove the stroganoff from the heat and stir in yogurt. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve over noodles, garnish with herbs and top with grated Parmesan, if desired.
Tip: Feel free to swap in whatever mushrooms you like or a mix of them.
(Kim Raff | The New York Times) Hannah Neeleman cuts dough into noodles for made-from-scratch beef stroganoff at her and her husband’s dairy farm, Ballerina Farm, in Kamas, Utah, Nov. 7, 2024. Neeleman’s picture-perfect life as a Mormon farm wife has made her a social media star and a cultural lightning rod.
Sourdough Herb Noodles
Recipe from Hannah Neeleman
Adapted by Julia Moskin
If you are the kind of cook who has more sourdough starter than you know what to do with, using it in fresh pasta produces a springy texture and deep flavor. Hannah Neeleman bakes bread most days for her family of 10 at Ballerina Farm, the name of both her 328-acre ranch in Utah and her wildly popular social media accounts. She makes this recipe to serve with stews like beef stroganoff. It can also be made without the herbs. — Julia Moskin
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Total time: 1 hour 55 minutes, plus 8 hours’ resting
Ingredients:
1 cup/208 grams sourdough starter
3 cups/348 grams 00 flour, plus more as needed
4 large eggs
Salt
1 1/2 cups, loosely packed, basil leaves, dill fronds or small parsley sprigs with tender stems (or a combination)
Preparation:
1. To a large bowl, add the sourdough starter followed by the flour. Use a large fork to create a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs to it. Use the fork to beat the eggs in the well and then gradually combine with the flour and starter.
2. When shaggy clumps begin to form, swap the fork for hands and knead the mixture until a smooth and elastic dough comes together, 5 to 10 minutes. Add more flour in small increments if the dough is sticky.
3. Form the dough into a ball and flatten into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
4. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Quarter the dough disk, then rewrap and set aside three of the pieces. On a lightly floured work surface use a rolling pin to roll out the dough almost as thinly as possible or to desired thickness (use a pasta machine or pasta attachment for a stand mixer if preferred; see Tips). If the dough is rolled too thin, it may tear after adding the herbs; the flattened dough sheet should be nearly transparent but still opaque and about 10 by 5 inches. Set the dough sheet aside on a lined sheet pan or other clean surface, and repeat with remaining pieces of dough (see Tips).
5. Lay out one of the dough sheets so the long sides are perpendicular to you. Arrange the herbs on half the sheet (the left side), placing the sprigs or leaves alongside one another, almost touching. Fold the right half of the dough over the herbs so the short edges of the sheet meet.
6. Use the rolling pin, pasta machine or attachment to flatten the dough one more time, seal in the herbs and make one sheet. Cut the sheet into the desired shape of noodle. Set noodles aside on a lined sheet pan or other clean surface, spreading them out slightly (it’s OK to mound them up a bit, just be gentle). Repeat with the remaining dough sheets.
7. Working in batches if necessary to keep the water at a rolling boil, cook the noodles until tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and use as desired, such as in beef stroganoff (see Tips).
Tips: If using a pasta machine or attachment, to prevent the dough from tearing when rerolled with the herbs, do not flatten the dough sheets to the thinnest setting before adding the herbs.
When setting the dough sheets aside on a clean surface or lined sheet pan, a sprinkling of cornmeal will help prevent sticking.
If not using the noodles immediately, cover and refrigerate fresh pasta in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet for up to one night. To freeze, divide the noodles into about 3-ounce nests on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until hard, then transfer to a freezer bag. To cook, drop frozen pasta into salted boiling water and cook for 4 to 7 minutes.
