BEEF BOURGUIGNON AND SIDES

 (Adapted from Julia Child)

I finally decided to try this recipe after hearing so much about it and from watching Julie and Julia. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to follow the recipe to a T, because I didn’t have the necessary ingredients and I didn’t want to open the oven.  In the end, it turned out okay. Something I would try again, as long as I have 2-3 hours to spare. The main recipe here is the one I did, but I’ll include in parenthesis the method that  was originally done by Julia Child.)

top to bottom: beef shank, bacon

6oz bacon, cut into 1 cm strips (in the original recipe, an uncut piece of bacon was used. The rind was removed and both meat and skin was boiled in water.  Its cut into lardons, which are centimeter-sized pieces, and then the procedure continues as it is)

3 tbsp oil

500 gms beef (Julia Child used beef chunks, but I had shank on hand so that’s what I used.)

clockwise, from right: carrots, onions,
garlic, bay leaf, thyme, tomato paste

1 large carrot, cut into big chunks (I cut them into big chunks so that at the end, I can still serve them with the meat. In Julia’s recipe, I have the impression that they end up as mush and are discarded at the end).

1 medium onion, french cut

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp flour

2 cups red wine (rule of thumb is - if you can drink it, cook with it)

2 cups beef stock (I used 4 beef cubes in 1 L water, which is more than enough to cover the amount needed for this recipe and its sides)

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cloves garlic mashed with 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1. Saute bacon in oil for 2 to 3 mins until browned. Remove with slotted spoon. Set aside. Reheat oil.

2. Dry beef in paper towels. Brown. Remove and set aside with bacon.

3. In same pan, brown vegetables, app 10 mins. Pour out excess fat.

4. (If beef cubes are used, add beef in this step and coat with flour as well. Brown also.) Add salt, pepper and flour. Toss together until slightly browned. (In the original recipe, after the flour and seasoning is added to the beef and vegetables, the entire casserole was placed in a 400F oven for around 15 minutes or until the meat was browned even more.)

from left to right: red wine, beef stock

5. Add tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Stir in wine and stock. Scrape up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. (Actually, in the original, the wine was stirred in first before the tomato paste, garlic and herbs).

6. Transfer to a slow cooker/crockpot and cook on moderate heat for 2 - 2 1/2 hrs or until meat is fork tender. (Here I deviated once again.  The dish is supposed to be cooked in a 350F oven for the said hours).

7. Once done, remove meat and pour rest of contents of casserole through a sieve set over a saucepan. Transfer meat, bacon and carrots to a serving platter and set aside. Garnish with braised onions and sauteed mushrooms (recipes follows).

8. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce until approximately 2 1/2 cups of sauce remains, or until thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning. Pour sauce over meat and vegetables.

beef bourguignon, carrots and sides

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS

left to right: sliced mushrooms, butter

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp oil

1-1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

Salt and pepper

Heat skillet over high heat with butter and oil. Be careful not to burn the butter. Once bubbles subside, add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 8-10 mins until lightly browned. Set aside to serve with beef.

sauteed mushrooms

BROWNED BRAISED ONIONS

browned braised onion ingredients
(clockwise, from top):
beef stock, onions, butter,
dried parsley, bay leaf, dried thyme

Pearl/small onions, 3-5 pcs per person (I couldn’t find any pearl onions in my supermarket, but luckily enough, there were some small onions of approximately 1 inch in diameter).

1 1/2 tbsp butter

½ - 1  cup beef stock

Pepper

Parsley sprigs (I didn't have any parsley but i did have dried parsley. Not the same, but I had to adapt)

1 small bay leaf

1/4 tsp thyme

1. In the same pan where mushrooms were cooked, add an additional 1 1/2 tbsp butter to the fat. Add onions and saute over moderate heat for approximately 10 mins until brown.

2. Pour in beef stock until I reached halfway up the onions, and add herbs. Cover and simmer slowly for 40-50 mins until onions are tender and liquid evaporates. Once done, remove herbs and serve onions with beef.

brown braised onions

GREEN BEANS WITH LEMON

250 gms green beans, topped and cut to 3 inches length

1 tbsp butter

Grated peel of 1 lemon

1 – 3 tbsp lemon juice (approximately ½ lemon)

Pepper

1. Steam green beans until cooked, around 3-5 mins.

2. Heat pan. Melt butter and toss in cooked beans.  Add 1/2 of lemon peel, juice (add tbsp by tbsp, to make sure it isn’t too sour) and season with pepper.  Mix together. Garnish with remaining lemon peel to serve.

green beans with lemon

CHEESY GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

mashed potato ingredients (clockwise from top right):
garlic cloves, melted butter, cheese spread,
parmesan cheese, cut potatoes

4 large potatoes, cut into chunks

4 large whole garlic cloves

1/2 cup cheese spread (there wasn’t a lot of choices in terms of cheese in the small supermarket I went to, so I decided to try this)

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

1 tsp melted butter

Parmesan cheese to garnish

finished mashed potato

1. Boil potatoes and garlic together in salted water until potatoes are cooked, approximately 15 mins.

2. Heat cheese spread and milk together. Set aside.

3. Mash potatoes with melted butter and cheese spread. Add parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter and pour with 1 tsp butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve. 

finished dish of beef, carrots, mushrooms, onions,
green beans and mashed potato