Recipe: A single pot is the solution to silky mushroom stroganoff

Today’s recipe column was supposed to be about making easy, hands-free stroganoff in an Instant Pot.

I’ve made plenty of Instant Pot pasta dishes using dried semolina noodles, so I thought it would be easy. To adapt the idea to stroganoff, I tried putting meat, mushrooms, seasonings and egg noodles in the machine, covering with water, and cooking on high pressure for a few minutes. (Because an Instant Pot can take upwards of 20 minutes to hit high pressure, I needed to use this streamlined, dump-and-go method.) But even after running tests using different volumes of water and cooking times, I still ended up with mushy noodles, undercooked beef and splattered starchy water all over the countertop. Some dishes are just not intended to be cooked under pressure.

So I pivoted. I traded the Instant Pot for a Dutch oven and the beef, which needs a lengthy simmer to become tender, for more quick-cooking mushrooms. While a stovetop recipe requires more attention, I ended up happy with the change. I was able to build a bit more flavor by browning the mushrooms before adding the pasta. And, ironically, I could instantly determine when the pasta achieved a perfect al dente bite, unlike when I used the Instant Pot.

But I kept the one-pot idea, opting to cook the noodles with the mushrooms instead of a separate pot of boiling water. In addition to making cleanup easier, this method creates an ultra silky sauce using all of that starch that was splattering out of my Instant Pot. Stroganoffs are finished with a big dollop of sour cream, and when prepared in a more traditional manner, the sauce has a tendency to split when the cream is added. However, the starchy one-pot sauce acts as an emulsifier for the sour cream so it can be stirred in without any worry. No special equipment necessary.

One-Pot Mushroom Stroganoff