Ingredients:
6-oz chunk of bacon or just regular slices
1T olive oil
3lbs stew beef cut into 2-in cubes
1-2 sliced carrots
1 sliced onion
1t salt
1/4t pepper
2T flour
3 cups red wine
2-3c beef broth
1T tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2t dried thyme
2 bay leaves
18-24 small pearl onions
1lb washed, quartered mushrooms
I do things slightly different from Julia but I think it comes together just fine in the end. If you want her recipe then you can google search this and should come back with it or check anybodys cookbook of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It gives step by step instructions for you. But since this is a blog about my food then I will share my version and modifications. If they do not suit you, then no biggie.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Take your bacon and cut it into lardons (sticks about 1/4in thick and 1 1/2in long). Heat a large dutch oven (must be a dutch oven or something ovenproof as well as work on the stove) on medium heat. Add your bacon lardons and saute until just golden. Do not over cook. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.
Take your cubes of beef and pat each and every piece dry. They will not brown correctly if they are wet. Turn the heat up to medium high and place the beef cubes a few at a time in the pan to brown. Do not be overly concerned with them being completely cooked. If you add too many to the pan your meat will not brown, Instead it will steam. Once these pieces are browned set them out on a paper towel lined plate. Finish cooking the remaining pieces of meat. My kitchen usually gets really smoky during this phase. I have to turn the fans on and open windows and sometimes even doors. But the point is to get a good sear on your meat and doing it on a lower heat doesnt get you where you want to be.
Once all of your meat is browned reduce the heat back down to medium and add in your carrots and onions. Season lightly with some salt and pepper. Once the onions and carrots are almost tender add back in your beef and bacon and toss together. Add in the flour and toss everything together.
Place the dutch oven in the oven with the top off for 5 minutes. Toss together the meat mixture and let it cook for another 5 minutes. This browns the flour getting the rawness out and puts a light crust on the meat.
Reduce the heat of the oven to 325 degrees. Remove your dutch oven and place back on the stovetop. Turn the heat to medium. Add your wine to the pan and scrape the pan to get the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in the broth and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer. Add in your garlic and herbs. Cover your dutch oven and place in the oven. This will cook very slowly for 2-3 hours. The meat is done when you can pierce it with a fork easily.
It is at this point that me and Mrs Child part ways. My stew doesnt have a whole lot of liquid left in it. and I rather like having the liquid like it is. So I saute my mushrooms and if you like pearl onions (I do not and always leave them out) in butter until they are cooked through. Add the cooked mushrooms and onions to the pan with the meat and stir together. Once everything is evenly coated with sauce and is hot it is time to serve.
Because mine is never stewy but rather light sauce I serve with cooked rice or potatoes. This time we ate brown rice. And it was delightful! I think we finished off the whole pot last night. It is one of those dishes that I do not make often due to the intense cooking and wear on my kitchen. I mean grease splatters EVERYWHERE! Sometimes after making this dish I am still finding grease marks a week later! But oh well. Whats life without a little adventure. And if you havent ever had French food and this it is fussy or not good....then this dish will change your mind. Hope you enjoy. Bon appetit!!
No comments:
Post a Comment