With acknowledgements to Julia Child and from “How to Eat Well and Stay Single” by Nigel Napier-Andrews

Preparation time: 30-45 min
Cooking time: 3 to 4 hrs

This is the king of beef stews from the Burgundy district of France and proves the value of wine in cooking. It’s a perfect comfort food for those days when the wind chills the bones to the marrow, and when the hearty aroma makes you decide life is worth living after all.

Shopping list

• 3 lb lean beef chuck, cut into 2 inch cubes
• 6 oz bacon, cut into 1/4 inch by 1 1/2 inch lardons
• olive oil
• 3 cups Burgundy or dry red wine
• 2 cups beef stock (or beef bouillon, not consommé)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 mashed garlic cloves
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 18 – 24 white pearl onions, peeled
• 1 lb mushrooms, washed and quartered
• butter
• flour
• sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish

Preparation and cooking

1. Prepare the bacon: cut the bacon into 1/4 inch by 1 1/2 inch strips or lardons, simmer in water for about 10 min, drain and dry, then sauté in 1 tbsp olive oil until brown. Remove to the casserole.
2. Prepare the beef: cut into 2 in chunks and dry thoroughly. Sauté in bacon fat and oil until brown on both sides. (TIP: do not crowd the beef or it will steam and not brown.) Remove to casserole.
3. While these are cooking peel and roughly chop the onion, peel and roughly chop the carrot, and add to the casserole with 1 whole sprig of fresh thyme, 1 fresh bay leaf and 2 mashed garlic cloves.
4. Deglaze the pan: add 2 cups of good red wine to the mix of bacon fat, oil and beef scraps. Simmer briefly and add 1 tbsp tomato paste and 2 cups beef stock.
5. Assemble the casserole and cover with the sauce so that the meat is just covered. Add up to 1 cup more red wine if necessary.
6. Heat the oven to 350^oF/165^oC, simmer covered for 3 hrs, checking and stirring occasionally. It’s done when the meat is tender to a fork.
7. Close to the time you want to serve prepare the onions and mushrooms. (TIP: blanch the onions in boiling water to make peeling easier.)
8. Sauté the peeled onions in butter and oil and simmer covered in 1 cup water for 25 min or until they are tender but holding their shape. (TIP: butter alone burns, heat the oil and butter together until it stops foaming.)
9. Sauté the washed and quartered mushrooms in butter and oil until lightly browned, about 5 min. (TIP: cut the stalks separately on a bias.)
10. Now’s the time to assemble everything: First take the casserole from the oven and drain the good sauce into another pan through a sieve. Discard the carrot, onion and herbs and return the beef and bacon to the casserole.
11. Taste the “wine dark sauce” (Julia’s phrase) and add salt and pepper, plus more tomato paste or garlic until it is just right, then thicken the sauce with 1 tbsp flour per cup of sauce, mixed thoroughly with approx 1 tsp butter, added and brought back to the boil briefly. (NOTE: This is Julia’s method of thickening. I prefer to make a ROUX with the same ingredients and add the sauce to the roux.
12. Add all the other ingredients and mix together. (TIP: at this stage you can cool and set the covered casserole in the fridge for up to 2 days before serving. It will taste even better. Just bring back to a simmer on the stove top before serving.)
13. Serve the beef stew in the casserole with lots of finely chopped parsley sprinkled over the top and crusty French bread on the side.