French Food Friday...Boeuf Bourguignon

 

Recipe and photo from here

 

As I sit writing this post, there is a wonderful smell wafting through the house, for me there is nothing nicer than the smell of beef bourguignon, such a wonderful rich smell, a combination of wine and beef mixed with herbs = fabulous and very French.....

 

Note the stakes run high as I have chosen to use an Australian version of the recipe from Melbourne’s France-Soir Restaurant and French Boyfriend even bought all his recipe books incase I needed a guide.....I keep telling him that I rate Australian restaurants  as some of the best that I have eaten at but he thinks that I am biased due to the fact that I hold an Aussie passport....hence my stress levels are at an all time high but am sure a glass of France's fine red wine will settle these nicely. 

 

I do not think now is a good time to start singing the virtues of Australian or even New Zealand wine but have got him drinking Californian wine and he likes both the red and the rosé.

 

Boeuf Bourguignon

Serves 6 Cooking Time Prep time 30 mins, cook 3 hrs 15 mins (plus resting)

1.5 litres	red wine
150 ml	vegetable oil
1.5 kg	oyster blade steak, cut into 5cm pieces
200 gm	smoked bacon, cut into lardons
1	onion, finely diced
1	celery stalk, finely diced
¼	red capsicum, finely diced
25 gm	plain flour, sieved
1 tsp	tomato paste
1	bouquet garni (see note)
500 gm	button mushrooms, halved
2	carrots, finely diced
To serve:	boiled chat potatoes, tossed in butter and chopped parsley

1	Cook wine in a saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced by two-thirds (20-25 minutes). Set aside and keep warm.
2	Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add beef in batches and turn occasionally until brown (3-5 minutes). Remove beef and place in a shallow baking tray, set aside.
3	Heat remaining oil in a large casserole over medium heat, add bacon, onion, celery and capsicum and sauté until tender (7-10 minutes). Add beef, pan juices and flour and stir to combine (1 minute). Add tomato paste and stir occasionally until colour darkens (1-2 minutes), then add wine, bouquet garni and 500ml water. Bring to the simmer, reduce heat to low and cook until slightly reduced (25-30 minutes), then add mushroom and carrot and cook until meat is tender (1½-2 hours). Season to taste, discard bouquet garni and set aside in a warm place to rest (30 minutes). Serve hot with boiled chat potatoes.

Note To make bouquet garni, tie three sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, 6 sprigs fresh thyme and 3 fresh bay leaves together with kitchen string.

 

....bon appetit à tous, Leeann x