Boeuf Bourguignon

Stew

• beef chuck1½ kg
• lardons150 g
• olive oil2 tbsp
• onion2
• carrot3
• garlic4 clove
• plain flour2 tbsp
• tomato paste1 tbsp
• red wine750 ml
• beef stock500 ml
• bay leaves2
• fresh thyme4 sprig
• salt
• black pepper
• flat-leaf parsley1 handful

Garnish

• butter40 g
• baby onions250 g
• sugar1 tsp
• button mushrooms400 g

Stew

1. 01

   Heat the oven to 160°C, or 140°C in a fan oven. Cut the beef into 5 cm cubes, pat them dry with kitchen paper and season them well with salt and pepper. Dry meat browns; wet meat steams.

2. 02

   Warm the oil in a large casserole over medium heat and cook the lardons for 5 to 6 minutes until golden and their fat has run. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat behind.

3. 03

   Brown the beef in the fat over medium-high heat, in three or four batches, about 4 minutes a batch, turning the cubes so they colour on most sides. Do not crowd the pan. Move each batch to a plate as it is done.

4. 04

   Roughly chop the onions, cut the carrots into thick rounds and crush the garlic. Lower the heat, add the roughly chopped onions and the thick carrot rounds and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until softened and caramelised at the edges. Stir in the crushed garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

5. 05

   Return the beef and lardons with any juices, scatter over the flour and stir until nothing looks floury, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste.

6. 06

   Pour in the wine, bring it to the boil and scrape the bottom of the pot clean with a wooden spoon. Let it bubble hard for 5 minutes, then add enough stock to almost cover the meat, along with the bay leaves and thyme.

7. 07

   Bring back to a bare simmer, put the lid on and slide the casserole into the oven for 2½ to 3 hours. It is ready when a cube of beef gives way to a fork with no resistance at all.

Garnish

8. 08

   About 25 minutes before the beef is done, melt half the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the baby onions and the sugar with a splash of water, cover, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until tender and glazed golden.

9. 09

   Tip the onions out, add the rest of the butter and turn the heat up. Fry the mushrooms, halved if large, for 5 to 6 minutes without stirring too often, until browned and squeaky. Season them.

10. 10

    Take the casserole out of the oven and fish out the bay leaves and thyme stalks. If the sauce is thinner than you want, tilt the pot, spoon the liquid into a small pan and boil it for a few minutes until it coats the back of a spoon, then pour it back.

11. 11

    Fold the onions and mushrooms through the stew and let it stand off the heat for 10 minutes. Taste for salt, chop the parsley and scatter it over, and serve with mashed potato, buttered noodles or plenty of bread.