Winter Warmer: Heartwarming Beef & Red Wine Stew

| Feb 9, 2015

Our guest writer Jessie (aka mscooksalot) has loved cooking and exploring recipes for as long as she can remember. Passionate about real food, she wants to know what’s in it and where it comes from. She believes that food is one of the greatest pleasures in life and can transform your experiences from the forgettable to the sublime. We asked her to help us kick start a healthy, delicious and happy New Year! And if you’d like to check out more of our Winter Warmer recipes, you’ll find them here.

This stew is inspired by the classic Boeuf Bourguignon by the fabulous Julia Child (don’t let the movie fool you, she was even more brilliant in real life!) It’s also an homage to the most amazing meal I’ve ever had in Paris.

In February of 2013 I was lucky enough to go to Paris with Mr. Cooksalot, who had never been to France before. We had dinner in a little bistro called Josephine, or Chez Dumonet and we had the most amazing Boeuf Bourguignon ever! This couldn’t compete but it’s a good start. It’s not identical or traditional by any means, as I’ve left out the mushrooms. I’m not a fan but feel free to add them in towards the end of cooking - say about 30 mins before serving.

This stew is so easy to make and amazingly delicious. It would make the perfect romantic meal this Valentine’s and will of course taste even better the next day or even a few days later, so it’s a great one to make in advance. It freezes well too. As always, buy the best beef you can afford and look for a bit of marbling of fat but not too much.

I used organic stewing beef from my local farmers market. If you can, take the time to look in your local butchers, or at the very least look for organic supermarket beef.

This recipe serves 4 people generously - especially with some creamy mash potato and healthy greens served alongside.

Ingredients

2 - 3 tbsp light olive oil (not extra virgin)

100 g best quality smoked bacon lardons ( I use Gubbeen but any good quality smoky bacon will

do)

500g best quality stewing beef (such as chuck)

sea salt (try and find Irish if possible!)

freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp mustard powder

2 red onions

2 sticks of celery

small bunch of small carrots (or 2 large carrots)

4-5 cloves garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

small bunch of parsley

2 organic beef stock cubes ( I used low salt because that was all that I had, but the original ones

are better)

Advertised

1 large glass (about 250ml) full bodied red wine

1 small glass (about 100ml) ruby port (this isn’t necessary but if you have some left over from

Christmas this is a great way to use it up!)

500 ml water

1 or 2 dried bay leaves (or a large pinch of broken ones like mine!)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 C or Gas Mark 4.

In a large ziploc bag, add the flour, a good pinch of sea salt, a good grinding of black pepper and the mustard powder.

Dry your beef off with a some kitchen towel and add it to the bag. Zip it up and shake well to coat the beef.

In a large, heavy bottomed pan or wide pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over high heat but don’t let it smoke.

Fry the bacon in the pan until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to an oven proof dish. Any medium to large casserole type dish will do - as long as it has a lid.

Turn up the heat and brown the beef in batches using a tongs. Transfer to the same oven dish.

In the meantime, prep your veg. Slice the onions and celery into roughly 1cm slices. Cut the carrots slightly thicker so that they will hold their shape. Grate or crush your garlic and measure out your herbs.

Turn down your heat, add the last of the olive oil. Add your onions, carrots and celery, plus a small pinch of salt, which will help them not to brown.

Sweat the veg for 5 to 10 minutes until it starts to get tender. Add the roughly chopped parsley, garlic, thyme, bay and let them cook for about a minute. You can add a generous pinch of salt and pepper here as well.

Turn your heat up to full blast and add your wine and port. Let it bubble up for another minute, then add the stock cubes and the water.

Let it come back up to a high simmer, then transfer it to the oven dish with the meat. All of the yummy caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan should have been lifted by the bubbling wine, but if not, just deglaze the pan with a splash of water. You don’t want to waste that amazing flavour!

Cover the oven dish with its lid and put it on the middle rack of your oven. Turn the temperature down to 150 C and cook for at least 3 hours. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.

I love this stew served with creamy crème fraîche mash potatoes and some garlicky curly kale on the side. Make this with love and watch your Valentine swoon! Enjoy!