Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Today we are going to make a classic French stew which I never tire of — Beef Bourguignon. The hardest part is spelling it. It's an inexpensive dish to make and gets better the more times you reheat it. You can get creative and add all kinds of other stuff, but personally I would make it just like this. Remember, this takes most of the day to make, so maybe get a bunch of Netflix ready.
Ingredients
3 pounds lean boneless chuck, cubed
1 large onion thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound sliced bacon cut into small pieces
20 pearl onions
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 pound button mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
Procedure
Place meat, onion, thyme, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add red wine and olive oil. Stir to mix and let marinate for 4 hours in the fridge. Place the bacon in a heavy casserole, and cook till the fat renders out. Add the pearl onions and cook till they brown and the bacon is crisp. Remove onions and bacon, but save fat. Drain and pat dry the beef (save the marinade) and then saute in the hot bacon fat till browned on all sides. Sprinkle the flour over beef and saute for a few minutes more. Now pour back on the marinade and add the beef stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, for 2 hours till beef is tender. In the meantime, saute the sliced mushrooms in the butter. When beef is tender, taste for seasoning and add the mushrooms, pearl onions and bacon and simmer for another 15 minutes to blend flavors. This dish serves 6 and is best done a day ahead. You will need bread and wine and maybe a beret to make the meal complete ... and maybe Dadou the accordion player.
