Bouef Bourguignon my way.

This time of year, when the weather is cool and rainy (in my part of the world at least), I'm drawn to food that is warm and comforting.  Subsequently, recipes which fall into the category of stews, soups and braises are what I'm itching to make.  After a summer of avoiding the use of my oven (in an effort to keep my house cool), I can't wait to start using it regularly again and enjoying the gentle warmth it adds to my home.

Bouef Bourguigon is beef stew cooked in wine from the Burgundy region of France. There are many variations of this recipe, but most of the time the beef is braised in the aforementioned wine with garlic, pearl onions, herbs, and mushrooms.  It's usually served on top or alongside a starch of some sort like buttered noodles or steamed potatoes.

My version is slightly different by which I use regular cooking onion (since I couldn't find any pearl onions), carrots, celery, herbs, bacon and finally leaving out the mushrooms.  I added in carrots because I quite like the balance and slight sweetness they add and while I often add mushrooms to this recipe, I prefer this dish cooked without them.  I find in order for the mushrooms to have the right texture in the stew, I have to saute them separately and add them in at the end.  Since the mushroom flavour won't make or break the stew (for my palette), I left them out.  Also, my decision to add bacon is not very traditional, but the subtle smoky and salty quality it adds is quite pleasant. I like to serve this with lightly buttered cavatapi noodles; they're definitely not a traditional accompaniment, but my family loves them so I always have a supply on hand.  However, you could certainly choose a different pasta of your liking, or some potatoes and failing that; nothing at all, just the lovely stew.

In my opinion, this recipe can be made with any full bodied red wine that appeals to you.  It's not absolutely imperative the wine come from Burgundy or even from France for that matter.  I used a nice, full flavoured and reasonably priced red wine from the Okanagan to cook the beef in.  I wouldn't recommend using an expensive wine for this recipe, since the stew will braise for a few hours and the wines flavour will end up much less pronounced.

Recipe:

2 lbs of beef stewing meet, I used chuck
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Few pinches of freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of red wine (plus some more for later to top up stew)
4 strips of bacon chopped
2 carrots chopped into batons or a rough dice
2 or three ribs of celery coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow or red onion coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely grated or chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 or three sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme
1 cup of beef or chicken stock


Preheat your oven to 275 F, pour the flour and salt into a shallow dish and add a dash of freshly ground pepper.

Pat the beef stewing meat dry with a piece of paper towel and heat a large dutch oven or pot on medium high heat.  In batches, dredge the beef in the flour, and then saute in olive oil turning the beef as it sears to brown on all sides.  While sauteing the beef, ensure that your pot doesn't get too hot causing the bits (that stick the bottom) to burn.  Remove the seared beef to a bowl and set aside, leaving your pot on the heat.

Deglaze the pot with the cup of red wine; making sure to stir and lift up all the bits of beef left at the bottom of the pan.  Allow to gently simmer for a minute or so, letting the wine reduce slightly. Then pour the wine into the dish with the beef, set aside while you continue.

To the same pan still on medium heat, add the chopped bacon and saute until the fat is rendered and the bacon is browned.  Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain and set aside (leaving any bacon fat in the pan).  Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan and saute in the bacon fat until softened.  Add the tomato paste to the vegetables stirring until the paste has combined and spread around in the vegetable mixture.  Then add the beef and bacon back into the pot; add in the herbs and top up with beef stock as well as some more wine.

Put a lid on the dutch oven or pot, leaving it a little ajar to let steam out.  Place the pot in the oven and check on the stew every 45 minutes or so to ensure the sauce isn't over-reducing (if it is, turn down the oven by 25 degrees).  Leave the stew to braise for 3 hours or until the meat is meltingly tender and the sauce is nicely thickened and glossy. Serve and enjoy!

Bon appetit!