Last Sunday, I was hungry for Boeuf Bourguignon.
What is this fancy French sounding dish? It is a beef stew in red wine made somewhat famous by Julia Child. The stew is simmered for 3-4 hours in the oven, developing deep rich flavor.
Before I go further, I must make a disclaimer. For those of you following our adventures at Five Feline Farm, you know we have significantly reduced our consumption of red meat. However, when we do choose to eat beef, we go all out on something high quality, delicious and special.
Back to the Boeuf Bourguignon.
It was already 4:30 PM and not wanting to wait until 8:00PM to eat, there were two choices: make something different or find a short cut.
I made up an Instapot shortcut.
Since I wasn’t following a recipe, I also decided call my version Peasant Stew.
Peasant Stew
1 pound beef, cut into 1 inch cubes (use any cut that has some fat marbled throughout, I happened to have a couple of strip steaks in the freezer)
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 large carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 Tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound buttom mushrooms, quartered
6 Tbsp butter, divided
2 tsp neutral oil such as canola or grapeseed
Heat oil in Instapot using the brown/saute setting. Add beef in single layer and brown all sides. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pot. Remove beef and set aside. Add onion and garlic, saute for 2 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to turn transluscent. Add flour, stirring for about 1 minute until browned. Add red wine and continue cooking for 3 minutes to release alcohol. Add tomato paste, carrots and browned beef to pot and then beef stock. Make sure the stock just covers the beef and carrots, using more or less than 2 cups as necessary. Add bay leaf.
Attach cover and set steam vent to closed. Use stew setting or manual with high pressure for 35 minutes.
While stew is cooking, melt 2 Tblsp butter in skillet and saute mushrooms until browned. Work in batches to avoid crowding if needed.
After pressure has released, remove and discard bay leaf. Remove beef and carrots, then set pot to brown/saute to boil broth. Once reduced by half, add remaining butter by tablespoons until sauce is silky. Stir in beef, carrots and mushrooms and stir to coat.
This is best served with a crusty bread and green salad.
Bon Appetit!
For more recipes like this, check out Simply Delicious, a memoir of cooking.