Ah France, it’s your day tomorrow: Bastille Day. A day that’s more than commemorating the storming of a prison in 1789 that marked a turning point in the French Revolution, it’s also la Fête nationale (The National Celebration). So, in celebration of all things French and their fabulous cuisine, Tom Milligan, Technical Director for Le Cordon Bleu Australia, has provided GRAM readers with a hearty winter casserole classic: the Bouef Bourguignon. Enjoy, mon ami.
Beef Bourgionon
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g chuck steak, diced and seasoned
50g duck fat
50g bacon slab (cut into lardons)
2 x garlic cloves
8 x peeled golden shallots (keep whole as used as garnish)
2 x onions, diced
100g Swiss brown mushrooms (left whole)
25g tomato puree
1 x bouquet garni of thyme, rosemary and flat leaf parsley
20g Dried porcini mushrooms (soaked in warm water)
350ml veal stock
375ml Pinot noir
1 x large carrot, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
Beurre manie
15g butter
20g plain flour, combine with butter to form to a smooth paste
Method
- Season the chuck steak with salt and pepper. Brown in batches with half of the duck fat in a hot ovenproof pan. Remove the beef and set aside.
- Using the remainder of the duck fat, fry bacon, garlic, shallots, onions and mushrooms together until lightly coloured.
- Add the tomato purée and mix well.
- Add the beef back to the pan with the bouquet garni.
- Add veal stock, Porcini mushrooms including the liquid.
- Add red wine, stir well, place a lid on the pan and bring to the simmer.
- Place in the oven and cook at 170°C for 2 hours or until tender.
- Add carrots to the meat when tender and cook until al dente.
- Bring the sauce up to a simmer then whisk in beurre manie into sauce a little at a time until the correct consistency is achieved.
- Add beef and shallots back to the sauce, add seasoning to taste and serve with croutons or fresh sprig of herbs, if desired.