Beef stroganoff in French sounds like – B & oelig- uf Stroganoff, which literally means – beef Stroganoff. Also, the dish has the names: “Beef Stroganov”, “Beef a la Stroganov”, meat in Stroganoff style. It is thinly sliced ​​pieces of beef, pre-fried and filled with sour cream sauce. In modern cooking, beef stroganoff can be filled with cream or fresh cream. Beef stroganoff is not a national, folk dish, but a typical, invented one. It first appeared at the end of the 19th century. (not earlier than the second half of the 1990s). It was included in a number of cookbooks published at the beginning of the 20th century, but became relatively widespread and became famous only after the October Revolution. According to one, the most reliable version, the dish is named after Count Alexander Grigoryevich Stroganov, the last of the Stroganov family and known in the scientific world for the fact that he donated a huge library, which had been collected for more than two hundred years by the barons and counts of the Stroganovs, to Tomsk University, and for the fact that according to Odessa University, originally called Novorossiysk, was founded to his project. For a long time, A. G. Stroganov was the governor-general of Novorossiya, he lived and died in Odessa, where he was elected an honorary citizen of the city after his resignation. As an exceptionally rich and childless man, the heir to both branches of the Stroganovs (Count and Baron), he, according to the custom of the nobles, kept an “open table” in Odessa, which any educated and decently dressed person could enter. The dish, in fact, was invented for such open tables – firstly, due to the convenience of preparation, the consistency of the standard of the dish, secondly, good division into portions and thirdly, at the same time tasty. Naturally, the dish was not invented by the count, but was invented by one of his chefs, who successfully combined the technology of French cuisine (frying meat, serving it with sauce) with the methods of Russian cuisine (the sauce is served not separately, but as Russian gravy, along with meat). The dish was immediately appreciated by Odessa cookbook authors. It was the inhabitants of Odessa who introduced it into a wide all-Russian circulation, they, of course, gave the name to the dish. There is another version of the origin of the dish. The French cook (André Dupont) pleased immensely the Governor-General of Novorossiya, Count Alexander Grigoryevich Stroganov, who, due to his advanced age and due to the absence of traveling dentistry in Russia at that time, he could not eat not only chops, but even steaks. One way or another, the dish has received the widest distribution in the world: beef stroganoff is served in a variety of catering establishments: from restaurants to canteens. After World War II, the dish entered the nomenclature of international restaurant cuisine as a “Russian dish”, despite the fact that it is not a national Russian dish. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the dish became known much later than the period it was created, the second-hand recipe is often distorted. What was the authentic recipe, let’s try to figure it out. For beef stroganoff, they usually take beef tenderloin or loin fillet. The meat is lightly beaten in a whole piece, and then cut into rectangular slices no more than one centimeter thick. Next, the steaks are cut along the fibers into long, narrow strips. The strips are breaded in flour and fried in a pan, the bottom of which is covered with onion slices, there is no direct contact between the meat and the bottom of the pan. Fry over high heat for several minutes until the meat shines: it should look like varnished. It is important to stop frying in time, otherwise the meat will harden. Then the beef stroganoff is put in a saucepan, poured with sour cream sauce and stewed for 10 minutes (depending on the quality of the meat) over moderate heat. The total cooking time of the dish takes no more than an hour. Beef stroganoff is served with deep-fried potatoes or mashed potatoes. The dish and side dish must be extremely hot, otherwise it will lose all its taste. Also, the dish is not reheated. Red, dry wine is served with beef stroganoff. In Soviet cooking, through the original recipe for beef stroganoff, a recipe for a similar dish was born – beef stroganoff from beef liver. The cooking technology is just as simple. The liver is washed and cleaned of films, cut into long sticks, rolled in flour and fried in oil with onions for literally 3-5 minutes. Then add sour cream, cream, if desired, also tomato paste, stew for another 7 minutes under the lid. Before serving, sprinkle the dish in a plate with chopped herbs. Potatoes, mashed potatoes, crumbly, buckwheat porridge are offered as a side dish.