Boeuf bourguignon

   I guess that boeuf bourguignon is one of the most known french cuisine dishes. So with Julia Child help we are going to make this delicious dish. This is Julia's Child recipe and as she says - "there is jus one way to make boeuf bourguignon". You can prepare this dish even a day in advance and it only gains in flavour when reheated.

   Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Serve with the beef a fairly full - bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, a St. Emilion claret, Burgundy.

   For two portions of this dish you will need:

• 60 g of bacon;
• 450 g of beed rump;
• olive oil;
• 1/3 carrot;
• 1/3 onion;
• salt;
• pepper;
• 10 g of flour;
• 200 ml of red wine (best is the one you will drink with this dish);
• 200 - 270 ml brown beef stock;
• 1/3 tablespoon of tomato paste;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• 2 g of fresh thyme;
• 1,5 of dried bay leaf;
• 6 - 8 small onions;
• 27 g of butter;
• 1 parsley;
• 115 g of champignons;
• 2 - 4 potatoes.

   Firs we are going to prepare meat, because it is going to stew for 3 - 4 hours.

   Preheat oven to 230° C.

   Cut bacon into lardons. Sauté bacon in 1/3 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat to brown lightly (saute bacon in the pot where meet will be stewed). Remove from the pot.

   Cut beef into 10 cm cubes. Dab meat with paper towel to remove excess moisture (it is very important step to brown meat properly). Heat the pot on hight heat and sauté beef in bacon fat few pieces at a time till meat all sides are browned. You could add more oil in pot if you needed. Brown all bacon cubes and remove them from the pot.

   Cut 1/3 carrot and 1/3 big onion into round slices. Sauté vegetables in the same pot and remove them from the pot.

   When bacon, beef and vegetables are sautéed, remove fat from the pot.

   Mix flour with 1/3 tea spoon of salt and 1/2 g of pepper. Lightly coat beef cubes and bacon lardons in flour mixture. Then put beef and bacon into the same pot again. Put uncovered pot in the preheated to 230° C oven for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes turn over meat and bake for more 4 minutes. This helps  to form a gently crust on meat.

   Take pot from the oven and reduce heat to 160° C.

   Then put wine and enough brown beef stock in the pot to just cover the meat. Put tomato paste, crushed garlic clove, 1,5 g of thyme, 1 bay leaf and baked carrot and onion pieces. Bring pot content to simmering point on the stove. Then put covered pot onto lowest shelf of the oven.

   Slowly simmer stew for 3 - 4 hours. Meat is done when fork pierces easily.

   While meat is simmering we can prepare other parts of that dish.

   Peel potatoes and put in the pot with water and pinch of salt. Start boil potatoes at least 30 min before serving meat.

   Peel small onions. In hot pan put 7 g butter and 1/3 table spoon of oil. When butter and oil starts to bubble bake onions on medium heat for about 7 minutes. Onions are done when they are lightly browned on all sides. Put browned onions in the pot with 100 ml of beef stock, 1 parsley, 1/2 bay leaf, 1/4 thyme twig and pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer onions on low heat for about 20 - 30 minutes. Onions are ready when they are tender and keeps them shape.

   Cut champignons into quarters and drain. Sauté mushrooms with 20 g of butter and 10 g of oil for about 6 - 8 minutes till they are golden brown.

   You could prepare small onions and mushrooms in advance, they can become cold.

   When beef is tender, drain liquid form the pot to pan. Remove as much fat as you can from sauce.

   Put small onions and mushrooms in pot with the meat.

   Simmer sauce for about 1 - 2 minutes in a pan. You should get about 150 ml of sauce. Sauce should be not to thick, just to cover the spoon lightly. If the sauce is to thick add more stock, if the sauce is to liquidy boil it down a bit. Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper if needed. Then put sauce on meat in the pot.

   Till this point you can prepare boeuf bourguignon in advance. Before serving this dish simmer it for about 2 - 3 minutes repeatedly pouring the sauce on meat. If the dish was in the refrigerator, simmer it for about 10 minutes repeatedly pouring the sauce on meat. Serve boeuf bourguignon with boiled potatoes and don't forget a glass of red wine.

   Enjoy!