JULIA MOSKIN'S BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Julia Moskin's Beef Bourguignon image

For home cooks craving this deep, savory stew, we've turned to Ginette Mathiot's "Je Sais Cuisiner" ("I Know How to Cook"), an authoritative cookbook for French housewives first published in 1932, and often described as the French "Joy of Cooking." Ms. Mathiot's boeuf bourguignon has just nine ingredients (plus salt and pepper) and takes just five steps. The meat is browned in the same fat as some chopped onions and bacon pieces. Flour is sprinkled in and browned - this is the key to a thick, but not too winy, sauce - then slowly cooked in liquid, with mushrooms tossed in toward the end. The hands-on time for the cook: about 25 minutes.

Provided by Julia Moskin

Time 3h

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
3 ounces onions or shallots, chopped
3 1/2 ounces thick-cut bacon, diced
1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2 -inch pieces, patted dry
Scant 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cups any type of stock, hot
1 1/4 cups red wine
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 3 sprigs parsley, tied together)
Black pepper
3 1/2 ounces mushrooms, diced
Salt

Steps:

In a heavy pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and bacon and cook, stirring, until browned. Remove them and set aside; leave fat in pan.
Add beef and brown on all sides (work in two batches if needed to avoid crowding).
Sprinkle browned beef with flour, stir until browned and add stock. Stir, scraping bottom of pan, then add reserved bacon and onions, the wine and bouquet garni. Season with pepper.
Simmer very gently for 2 hours.
Add mushrooms and cook 30 minutes more. Season with salt and serve. Or, even better, reheat and serve the next day.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 325, UnsaturatedFat 10 grams, Carbohydrate 10 grams, Fat 15 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 29 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 619 milligrams, Sugar 2 grams, TransFat 0 grams