Beef Worthanov.

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The name says it all.
Not traditional nor authentic but a creation of my own taking ideas and food from different lands and putting them together.
So here we go.
3 medium onions peeled and chopped.
One head of garlic.
One stick of salted butter and a dash of oil.
Slowly melt butter and oil in Dutch oven until the solids caramelize.
Then add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of flour to make a thin roux.
This is for flavor not gravy.
The flour needs to cook awhile not just a minute or two but a good time to get a peanut butter color or a little more.
You want it a nice toasted flavor.

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Roux is ready.
Put in the crushed garlic from the garlic press.
Let cook a bit and add onion and black pepper.

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While the onions and garlic are cooking down nicely.
I processed 48 ounces of white mushrooms.
24 ounces chopped and 24 ounces sliced.
Both in the food processor i have gotten so much use from.
These mushrooms will not only add flavor but most of the water I need in this recipe.
It's a lot of mushrooms.

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Next the onions and garlic are where I want them.
The mushrooms are added on top no mixing necessary.
1/4 cuo of Worcestershire sauce.
1/3 cup of London Dry Gin Amsterdam is the brand i use.
Toss them in put lid on put on medium low heat and wait for the magic to happen.
You want to keep all that mushroom flavor in the kettle not evaporating away.

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Folks I was very seriously not going to add any type of pepper to this recipe but being a pepper lover I couldn't resist.
I added a whole handful of sweet paprika to the concoction.
For my handful it's about 1/2 cup.
Needed salt to offset the sweetness that was going on so I added about a tablespoon of Knorr beef bullion powder.
Oh yes and two giant tablespoons of my homemade tomato paste.
Wasn't going tomato products either but after all this is Tomatojunction.
Thank you Rajun.

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Oh and yes after what is now hours of preparation here is another picture.
Remember there's nothing but the mushrooms and onions creating the fluid.

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Where's the beef?
Well it's on the side in another cast iron skillet cooking with the lid on it.
Going to break it down as it cooks.
Then and only then will I decide how much beef fat I will incorporate into the dish.
Two pounds of ground chuck.

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After browning and chopping up the ground beef I decided fat juices and all.
Next 1 and 1/2 pounds of diced potatoes skin on.
Just put it all in the kettle and cover let cook very slowly.
Potato of choice is Russet in this recipe.

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At this point I was left with no other choice but to add a pint of water, so I did.
Most certainly if I would have had a dry wine on hand I would have used it instead but I didn't.

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After some time to let the potatoes cook i cooked some real lasagna for the pasta.
Probably about 1/2 cooked in boiling water.
Just enough to cut into squares and long strips.
Then back into the water for a wee bit.
They were transferred into the main dish kettle of said concoction to finish cooking with potatoes.

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Let the flavors meld overnight and added 1 cup of sour cream and a handful of dill weed.
Letting it slowly heat back up.

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This is really good.
Almost as good as Hamburger Helper.
Last ingredient was Dijon mustard about 1/2 cup.

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As what seems as always I'm sick of what I'm cooking after it is finished.
Mostly from tasting and adjusting flavors to my tastes.
I put the remaining in quart bags and in the freezer.
I certainly hope y'all enjoyed the recipe and try it.