Boeuf Bourguignon

What's that, you say? Ok, ok, it's a fancy schmancy name for a beef stew. But it was the name that inspired me to try this dish. You see, I was watching Julie & Julia on dvd and Amy Adams declared "I'm making boeuf bourguignon!" with such dramatic flair that it sounded like the most delicious dish in the world.

I checked out several online recipes and decided to try one with a sizeable number of positive reviews. I adjusted a few of the ingredients and proportions, here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients

30g plain flour
600g shin beef or beef brisket, cubed
30g butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
350ml red wine
50ml water
1 bay leaf
few sprigs chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 can mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper

Boeuf Bourguignon

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and ground black pepper. Coat the beef cubes with this mixture.

2. Melt half of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and brown well on all sides. Pour this into a casserole dish.

3. Return the skillet to the heat, melt rest of the butter and saute the onion, carrots and garlic for 5 to 10 minutes, or until onion is tender. Add the wine, water, bay leaf, parsley and thyme. Pour over meat.

4. Bake, covered, at 180 degrees celcius for 2 hours. Add mushrooms and bake for 30 more minutes. Serve with bread rolls or mashed potatoes.

The beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender. I've tried different beef stew recipes over the years but this was hands down the most popular one with my kids. Serving this dish with bread rolls is a good idea because you'll want to mop up the very rich and flavourful gravy.

I still can't say "I'm making boeuf bourguignon!" with as much artistry as Amy Adams but the dish did turn out to be pretty satisfying. As Julia Child herself would say, "Bon Appetit!"