I like to make “mashup” (merged styles) dishes, the usual boeuf bourguignon is great with potatoes, but if you want to try something new, try this on pasta! I like potatoes… but husby… doesn’t so much… so he always ask me to make his boeuf bourguignon on pasta. I have to agree with him on this; with pasta it’s gives the dish a whole new dimension.

But either ways, the base of the recipe stays the same; braised beef cubes in a red wine sauce. So you decide which between pasta or potatoes makes you salivate more. Some recipes omit the mushrooms, I think mushrooms are excellent in it. Also I’ve had my little spanish touch by making a “picada” (last minutes seasoning) with parsley, garlic and olive oil just to give it a last kick.

The beef cubes, I’ve bought, were precut quite small, about 2-3cm large which isn’t ideal, try to get bigger cubes of 5 cm, then when you’ll go in for a bite you’ll see the tender beef cubes fall apart and that experience add so much more appeal to the dish. Also another important part is to sear good your beef pieces at first, add the cubes to the oiled hot pot and don’t move them, let them alone for a few minutes until brown shows in the bottom sides. You can make this dish on the cooktop or in the oven, the oven way is slightly better… since you’ll get the caramelizing on top of the beef pieces, which will give an “extra flavour” to the dish.

If you’d like to make it extra tasty, you can marinate the meat in the wine, onion and carrot mix for 24 hours.

So let’s make that beef so tender it melts on our tongue.

Boeuf bourguignon

Makes 4 portions

Ingredients

• 400g of beef cubes of 5cm
• 500ml (2 cups) of red wine
• 2 big carrots into slices
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 garlic clove finely sliced
• Bouquet garni (thyme, laurel, pepper, clove)
• 3 tbsp of flour
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 250g of button mushrooms cut into quarter
• salt, pepper

The picada *optional (goes at the end of coccion)

• a few flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 a garlic clove
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• salt

Directions

1. In a big pot, bring pan to high heat, then add the olive oil and the beef, sear each side of the beef cubes until light brown (add extra oil if too dry during coccion)
2. When the cubes are done, add the flour over the cubes of beef and coat them, let cook the flour for a minute or two
3. Add the red wine and mix
4. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, bouquet garni and let 3-4 minutes at high heat to evaporate the alcohol from the wine
5. Cover and turn the heat to low (or in the oven at 170°C (340f))
6. Let simmer slowly for about 2 hours
7. Add the mushrooms and keep uncovered for 30 more minutes
8. Add salt, pepper
9. Make the “picada” with all it’s ingredients in a mortar, add to the boeuf bourguignon 2 minutes before the end of coccion *optional
10. Serve on pasta or with the usual potatoes has side dish.

Serve with a sprinkle of flat leaf parsley. Enjoy!