Boeuf Bourguignon
This is another hearty beef stew, in the French style that I adapted from Craig Claiborne, The New York Times Cookbook, 1961.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds cubed chuck
- flour
- 15 T. olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup cognac
- 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
- 2 leeks, coarsely chopped
- 3 cups coarsely chopped onions
- chopped parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 bottle Burgundy wine
- 36 small whole white onions, peeled
- sugar
- 36 mushrooms
- juice of half a lemon
Roll the beef cubes in flour, and brown them on all sides in a skillet over
high heat in four tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle the meat with salt
and pepper, pour the cognac over it, and ignite. When the flame dies,
transfer meat to a 3-quart casserole. Preheat oven to 350° F.
In the skillet, add 3 T. olive oil, garlic, carrots, leeks, chopped
onions, and 2 T. parsley. Cook until vegetables are lightly browned.
Transfer to the casserole with the meat, and add the bay leaf, thyme,
Burgundy, and enough water to barely cover the meat. Cover, and bake
for 1.5 hours. Prepare a beurre manié by blending one T. each oil
and flour and stir into the casserole bit by bit. Return the casserole
to the oven and continue cooking 3 hours. Brown the onions in 2 T. oil
with a dash of sugar. Add a little water, cover, and cook until the onions
are tender. Sauté the mushrooms in 2 T. oil until lightly brown.
Sprinkle with lemon and brown a bit more. To serve, add onions to casserole
and garnish with mushrooms and remaining parsley.