Beef Bourguignon & Sweet Potato Mash

Tender slow cooked beef with carrots, celery & mushrooms, served with a side of Sweet Potato & Thyme Mash.

I stumbled across this incredible recipe from Julia Childs on Chef Delites.

This is a total winner. I've made it over 3 times now and it is truly a sensational dish.

I have made a few adjustments and used what I had on hand!

Cook Time : Approx 3 hours

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp EVO Oil

6 Bacon Rashers - uncured, nitrate/nitrite free - roughly chop

1.5kg Beef - use chuck steak, beef brisket or stewing beef - cut into 3 cm cubes

2 cups Baby Carrots. - chopped into 1 cm pieces

3 chopped Celery Stalks

1 large Red Onion - chopped

5 Cloves of Garlic - 3 for the beef and 2 for the mushrooms (see method below)

Pinch of Ground Pepper

12 small Perl Onions (optional)

2 cups of Merlot or Chianti

3 cups Stock - use a reduced sodium and sugar free one. Check labels as I have found Beef Stock here to be sugared and flavoured! I used mix of an organic low sodium mushroom and chicken stock.

3 Tbsp Tomato Paste

12 Thyme Sprigs - I throw the whole sprig in & I put a lot in! There is no such thing as too much thyme in this one! During the long cook time, the small leaves fall off and I then remove the barren sprigs before serving.

2 Bay Leaves

1 tsp Tapioca Flour (optional)

500gm sliced Button Mushrooms

2 Tbsp Butter

1 splash of Cream

1 handful of roughly torn Parsley - for serving

3 large Sweet Potato - cubed & steamed with a bunch of thyme

Traditional Dutch Oven Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 370 degrees Fahrenheit

2. On the stove top, heat the oil in the dutch oven. Sauté the bacon over a medium heat until browned, add the chopped red onion and cook until onion translucent.

3. Add the cubed beef to the dutch oven and brown. You can remove the bacon/onion mix first and cook the beef in batches as the original recipe suggests, however I've done it the super easy way and just keep adding things to the pot! (I have tried both ways and have not noticed a big difference).

4. Throw in the chopped celery and carrots. Stir until softened.

5. Add pepper, thyme and 3 whole garlic cloves. You can grate or crush them. They tend to fall apart in the cooking so why make cooking harder than it need to be. NB: it is worth seeking out quality garlic. Forget the jar stuff and the imported bleached bulbs. Go for Organic & Locally-Grown Garlic!! It makes a huge difference.

6. Add pearl onions if using, tomato paste, wine & stock. I make sure the beef is covered with liquid. Stir well and bring to a simmer.

7. Sauté the mushrooms in a separate pan with 2 cloves of garlic (grated this time), butter and more thyme.

8. Set mushrooms aside.

9. Stop simmering in the dutch oven, put the lid on and transfer to the oven.

10. Cook for 2 hours, then check the liquid level & add the mushrooms. You may need to add some more stock before cooking for a final 1 hour. (Total cook time approx. 3 hours)

11. While all that goodness is cooking, peel and cube the sweet potato. Steam with some sprigs of thyme. Keep warm. Blend with a 1 Tbsp on butter & a splash of cream just before serving.

12. After approx 3 hours, remove the dutch oven from the oven, remove the lid and stir. The beef should be tender and falling apart and the liquid should be well absorbed. If you prefer a thicker sauce, mix 1 tsp tapioca flour in 2 Tbsp of cold water. Then add to the dutch oven and stir until it becomes thick.

13. Serve with a big helping of sweet potato mash and a sprinkle of torn parsley.