Bœuf Bourguignon

Goes well with Baguette and a rich red wine, e. g. a Rioja.

The recipe by Julia Childs is, after I made a few changes, now one of my favourite dishes. ☺
 

Important! This takes four to five hours to prepare!

Preparation You'll need: A clay pot roaster or a Tajine or something similar A small pot A medium-sized pot A pan (I use the same pan for all the steps and don't clean it in between).
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 400 g lean beef (e. g. a shoulder piece) 50 - 70 g bacon in one piece 350 and 75 millilitres red wine - preferably a good burgundy wine with lots of tannin. 350 millilitres beef broth As side dish potatoes, Spätzle or pasta - here I am using potatoes: 250 g small potatoes 1 small carrot 1 small onion 6 shallots (or pearl onions, but I prefer shallots) - whole 1 shallot (only 1 Tbsp finely chopped needed) 200 g button mushrooms Herbs: one stem of parsley, 2 small bay leaves, some thyme 2 cloves of garlic ½ table spoon tomato purée 2 table spoons butter some flour Salt, pepper
Preparing the pearl onions / shallots and further steps Heat up 1 table spoon of butter and some oil in a pan then add the peeled pearl onions, and sear them on all sides until they start to get brown. Then stew them on low heat for several minutes, turn them frequently until they are completely brown. Set the pan on the side for a few minutes until it is not too hot anymore. Then add the 75 millilitres red wine, and the herbs (parsley, one bay leaf and some thyme (up to one tea spoon). Let it simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, until all the liquid has disappeared almost completely. Place the onions/shallots with the rest of sauce, but without the herbs, in a bowl on the side. In the meantime: Clean the mushrooms and half or quarter them. Chop the shallot. Cut the skin of the bacon and put it on the side. Cut the bacon in 4 centimetres long stripes. Cook both parts in a small pot in one litre water for around 10 minutes. Pour the water and keep the bacon in the pot. Cut the beef into cubes (around 2 to 3 centimetres). Cut the small carrot into small pieces, chop the onion, set aside together.
Stew the mushrooms Heat up the pan and add 1 table spoon butter and a good deal of oil. As soon as the butter stops foaming, add the mushrooms and 1 table spoon of the shallot and quick fry for around 4 minutes, keep stiring. Then let it stew for another 2 minutes on low heat. Then place the mushrooms in a small bowl on the side, this will be needed at the very end.
Frying the beef Preheat the oven at auf 240℃. Fry the bacon (not the skin part) at medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes in oil, then place it in the casserole. Dry the beef in kitchen paper and quick fry it on all sides (if there's after 2 or 3 minutes too much water in the pan, pour it out), then add it to the bacon. Fry carrots and onion in the pan, set the pan on the side. Season beef and bacon with salt and pepper, toss in flour (1 to 2 table spoons). Place the casserole (without lid) in the oven, for around 4 minutes, then turn the meat and put it back for another 4 minutes. The beef will get a bit roasted that way. Then take the casserole out and turn the heat down to 160℃. Now bring to boil in the pan with the carrot and onion: 350 milliliters each of red wine and beef broth, tomato puree (½ table spoon), some thyme, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, small bay leaf, the skin part of the bacon. Then pour all together with the pearl onions (shallots) with that sauce into the casserole with the beef and place it covered into the oven. Now there is enough time to peel the potatoes and maybe cut them in half. Fry them in some oil in the pan until all sides are nicely brown. After half an hour turn down the heat to 130℃, add the potatoes and let it stew for a further 2½ hours.
The final steps When the meat is soft, pour the content of the casserole through a sieve into a pot, if the sauce is still too liquid. It should be rather thick. Then reduce it at high heat until it reaches a good thickness. In the meantime put the meat and vegetables back into the casserole and add the mushrooms. Cover with lid and put it back into the oven to keep things warm. When the sauce has the right thickness, season with salt and pepper, pour it over the meat again, mix well, and if necessary put it back into the oven for a few minutes. When everything is set, put the casserole on the dining table, together with some bread, so that everyone can help himself.