Since Freedom day, we can now gather together in our homes for meals; we thought we would look at some of the great recipes that brought people together around the dining table. This famous recipe from Julia Child has been adapted to incorporate more nutrition, added flavours, and more up to date styles of cooking. This recipe will yield 6 to 8 bowls of steaming beef bourguignon, which you can traditionally serve with either potatoes or pasta.
Ingredients:
One 170 gram piece of chunk bacon, remove the rind and cut the rest into lardon strips.
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Kg stewing/ braising/ shin beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
250 grams Venison liver cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
18 to 24 white onions, small
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
500g mushrooms, fresh and quartered
Preparations:
Now preheat the oven to 450F/250C/ Gas mark 8
Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1.5 litres of water. Drain and dry. Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown properly if it is damp. Heat the oil in the casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons. In the same fat, brown the venison cubes, place them to one side, and then brown the sliced vegetables.
Now return the beef and bacon to the casserole and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in the middle position of the preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat again and return to the oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust). Remove casserole and turn the oven down to 325 F/160C/Gas Mark 3. Stir in the red wine and 2 to 3 cups of stock, just enough to barely cover the meat.
Add the sliced vegetables, tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover casserole and set in the lower third of the oven. Leave it on this low heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. In the last hour of cooking, add the venison liver. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
Here is how to make this recipe:
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Onions
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet. Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. They won’t brown uniformly. Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquets and set onions aside.
Mushrooms
Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove them from heat.
Once you have everything prepared and cooked
At this point, take out the casserole and add the onions and mushrooms on top; cover and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes stirring in the mushrooms and onions.
We served this up with some mashed potatoes, with added butter and cream, as it is meant to be luxurious!
