Instructions: "This retro Russian dish may look like a stew, but its actually a quick saute that can be on the table in 20 minutes."

The statement tops a story in the February issue of Cooks Illustrated, a magazine renowned for its thoroughness and reliability. The essential problem with stroganoff, it said, is "because its made with a pan sauce, not as a slow braise or stew, it doesnt have time to develop flavor."

The usual solution is to add a hodgepodge of flavoring ingredients. The magazine devises an improved version: beef tenderloin, cut into thin strips rather than thick ones; button mushrooms, browned in the pan before the beef; white wine rather than red, used with a combination of chicken and beef broth; onions rather than shallots - plus tomato paste, dark-brown sugar and sour cream.

Buttered egg noodles are the classic accompaniment; the recipe suggests adding the noodles to boiling water at the same time the onion and tomato paste go into the pan, so that noodles and stroganoff are done at the same time.

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