make | FRANCE | boeuf bourguignon

This week's recipe comes courtesy of Mum! She's a master at what at home is just called 'beef stew' but if we've got people over we posh-ify it (aka French-ify it!) and call it beef bourguignon.  (Don't tell!)

Mum's recipe is based on the traditional French recipe though - the meat is still braised in red wine and stock, and the shallots and mushrooms added towards the end of the cooking time.  Mum doesn't use bacon though, although you could do if you wanted a richer dish at the end, or you didn't have enough beef.

As with lots of famous French recipes, the dish was originally peasant food.  As with our coq au vin recipe, the meat was simmered in the wine for a long time to make it tender.  The affordable meat would inevitably have been from a tougher cut.  

Mum tends to make everything in big batches so she's got another meal leftover that we can eat again in the week if we're busy or freeze and use again.  Her recipe makes about 8 portions.

Mum tends to make her stew in the morning, and then leave it in the oven for ages on a low temperature, or use the slow cooker.  That way, whatever meat you can afford will be really soft by the time you come to eat it.  It's also important to keep the shallots as whole as possible, because they go all yummy and caramelised and sweet when they're cooked through.  In my opinion they're the best bit!

Anyway, Mum hopes you like her recipe!

Enjoy today!!

rosinaviolets    x



Boeuf Bourguignon
Makes 8 portions

1.5kg beef - Mum used frying steak for this recipe.  Cut the beef into strips and trim it of any visible fat.
1 red onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped with the onion
2 sticks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon, or more or less to taste, ground white pepper
2 tablespoons plain flour
450g shallots, peeled and topped & tailed (we used echalion shallots) (also called banana shallots because of their shape!)
400 - 500g button mushrooms, wiped clean and halved (you can really use as many as you want - increase the quantity if you haven't got as much meat)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 bottle of red wine
500ml beef or mushroom stock

• Preheat your oven to 160C.  

• In a large frying pan (we tend to use something like a wok), heat a little oil.  Cook the red onion, garlic, celery and carrots for about 5 minutes.  

• Meanwhile, in another pan cook the beef.  (Mum doesn't use any oil when she is cooking beef, as it's already got enough fat in it that it won't stick.  If it does start to stick, just add a splash of water).  Once the beef is cooked, remove it to a plate.  

• To the first pan with the vegetables, add half the bottle of red wine.  Now throw in your bay leaves, dried thyme and white pepper, to taste.  Cook for another 5 minutes or so, and bring to the boil. 

• Put the 2 tablespoons of flour into the vegetable and wine mixture.  Stir it up to incorporate and then turn the heat down to low.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  

• Add the beef to the pan, along with the shallots, mushrooms and tomato.  

• Pour in the stock (it will be very liquidy but don't worry, once it's had it's time in the oven it will reduce down).  

• Put the mixture into a large ovenproof dish and cover with foil.  Put into the oven for anything up to 4 hours.  Keep an eye on it - you don't want it to get dry.  Alternatively, put the mixture into the slow cooker for a similar amount of time.  

• Serve with green vegetables and either rice or boiled new potatoes.