Cooking class #5--Boeuf Bourguignon

I was quite happy to make a boeuf bourguignon (beef stew in red wine) because I had made it before, and now was looking for ways to improve it.

The ingredients are simple: beef, bacon, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and red wine, along with some thyme, bay leaves and flour.


Emily is opening a bottle of red wine for the recipe. The cheaper the wine, the better, she says. I saw it in the grocery store this afternoon, and yes, the wine she used was 1,50 euros! A whole bottle gets put in the pot. This doesn't smell good initially, but as the wine cooks and thickens with the meat and vegetables, it is very aromatic 2 hours later.

The finished recipe doesn't look like much in the pot, but the flavor is all there!

Since Emily is of Italian background, we made polenta to accompany the beef stew. It can also be served with pasta, rice or boiled potatoes.

Caramelized turnips are not typically served with this dish, but since we had the time, she wanted to have me prepare them and serve them as decoration on top of the polenta and burgundy beef.

The turnips are boiled in water, sugar and butter. The water boils off, leaving caramelized turnips. The slightly bitter turnip with the caramelization is very good, although probably not according to everyone's taste buds.







We finished off the morning by making a compote de pommes (apple sauce) with apples her grandfather had picked. We cooked them with cinnamon, a bit of sugar and a vanilla bean.



Sunday lunch was all set for us. I liked the flavors of everything we made, although I do wonder how to make the beef stew look a bit brighter on the plate. I will have to ask about that.