‘From the source’ boeuf bourguignon

Legendary American cook Julia Child described boeuf bourguignon as: ‘Certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted.’ The recipe uses two of Burgundy’s most prized ingredients, beef and red wine, but techniques to create the hearty stew vary throughout the region, as chef Cécile Riotte explains in Lonely Planets new book From the Source – France.

As one of France’s most iconic dishes, it’s little wonder this hearty stew is so well loved considering its central ingredients are two of Burgundy’s most delicious products – hunks of beef stewed for hours in a rich red wine. While there is no debate about which wine is used – it should always be Pinot Noir – the cuts of beef can be open to discussion. But coming from a family of cattle farmers, chef Cécile Riotte knows which are best: ‘I use the gite (shin or topside), as it stews well; but you can use chuck cuts too,’ she advises. ‘It’s better to use the tastiest cuts, but then you would never use fillet, it just wouldn’t stand being stewed for three hours – it would be rock hard.’

Cécile’s restaurant, Le Vaudésir, in the town of Avallon in the north of Burgundy, is decorated with such memorabilia as agricultural medals and pictures that celebrate the region’s strong culture of raising Charolais cows, the cream-coloured breed that graze throughout the Burgundy countryside. ‘They’re a large animal, so the cuts you get are very big,’ she says. Naturally, the key stage to any Beef Bourguignon recipe is the long stewing time, and Cécile also gives the meat a head start by marinating it in wine overnight. And she has a trick for thickening the sauce that avoids the flour used in many recipes. ‘I blend the onions and carrots in a food processor to create a thickener for the gravy,’ she explains. ‘Don’t roll the meat in flour, you need more oil to fry it; then it gets too thick and you need more water. No, never flour.’ Cécile also dispenses with mushrooms, often found in other recipes. But between the marinade, the rich aromatic gravy and the caramelised onions to top it off, there is plenty of warming flavour.

Boeuf Bourguignon – Burgundy beef

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking time: 4hr (not including overnight marinating)

Ingredients:

• 1L pinot noir
• 1⅔kg beef (preferably chuck or topside)
• 150g carrots (preferably small, fine ones)
• 2 large onions
• 100ml olive or sunflower oil
• 1 bouquet garni
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 150g small onions
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 tsp sugar
• water, to cover small onions
• 4 squares of dark chocolate (at least 44% cocoa)
• 150g lardons or chopped bacon
• water, for blanching lardons
• mashed potatoes, to serve
• steamed carrots, to serve

Method:

1. To prepare the marinade, pour the wine into a saucepan and bring to the boil (approx 10 minutes) to reduce the amount of alcohol in it.
2. Cut the meat into pieces of around 4cm square, slice the carrots and the two large onions. Put the meat, 150g of carrots and onions into the wine and leave in the fridge overnight.
3. Remove the marinade from the fridge and drain the meat and vegetables in a sieve. Reserve the wine marinade.
4. In a large oven-safe casserole pot, fry the meat in the oil and brown on each side, then add the drained onions and carrots and fry for a further five minutes.
5. Add the wine marinade to the pot and the bouquet garni, bring to the boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
6. Add salt and pepper. Put the lid on the pot and leave to simmer on low heat for three hours. If the liquid reduces too much, top up with a little water.
7. Peel and trim the ends of the small onions. In another saucepan, melt the butter and add the onions and sugar, cover with water. Leave to simmer until all the water has evaporated, leaving you with caramelised onions.
8. Once the meat is cooked, drain the casserole in a sieve. Keep the wine mixture aside in one container and the meat in another. Place the drained fried onions and carrots in a food processor, and blend until a smooth purée. This will serve to thicken the final dish.
9. Put the wine back into the pot and reduce further, adding salt and pepper, and the chocolate until it melts.
10. Blanch the lardons in boiling water, then add to the casserole pot. Add enough carrot and onion mixture to the casserole to make it a thick gravy consistency.
11. Arrange the meat on a plate and pour over the sauce. Arrange the caramelised onions on top and serve with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots.

Reproduced with permission from Lonely Planet Food: From the Source – France, © 2017 Lonely Planet, www.lonelyplanet.com.