One of the most famous dishes to emerge from the world of French cuisine, beef bourguignon is a great hearty meal for those cold winter nights.
Gordon Ramsay's recipe for the slow-cooked stew braised in red wine and beef stock with a celeriac mash added for good measure, is sure to be a hit. The celebrity chef says it should take around 20 minutes to prepare the food and the cooking time is three hours and 15 minutes.
Suited to a small dinner party or a family meal, the recipe will feed four people while being simple to follow. Here's all you need to know to make it just like Ramsay.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp goose fat
- 600g shin beef, cut into large chunks
- 100g smoked streaky bacon, sliced
- 350g shallot or pearl onions, peeled
- 250g chestnut mushrooms (about 20)
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 bouquet garni (see know-how below)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 750ml bottle red wine, Burgundy is good
For the celeriac mash
- 600g (about 1) celeriac
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus a glug
- 1 or 2 rosemary and thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cardamom pods
To start off, you should heat up a large casserole pan and add a tablespoon of goose fat. Season in 600 grams of shin beef chunks and sauté them for around three to five minutes until golden.
Once done, flip them over and repeat, making sure the chunks are brown throughout. You should do that once or twice again with more chunks, putting the meat in a colander over a bowl when done.
We shed 7st to reignite sex life - here's how you can too, say Ola & JamesUse the same pan to lightly brown 100 grams of sliced smoked streaky bacon, 350 grams of either shallot or pearl onions, 250 grams of chestnut mushrooms, two sliced garlic cloves and a bouquet garni.
Add a single tablespoon of tomato purée and stir the mixture while you leave it to cook for a few minutes, creating a flavourful base for the stew. Once done, put the beef and any drained juices back into the pan and continue to stir.
Next, pour in a 750ml bottle of red wine and around 100ml of water. Make sure the meat is drizzled well by the liquid but not entirely covered. Bring the mixture to a boil and use a spoon to scrape off the caramelised cooking juices from the bottom of the pan.
Preheat your oven to 150C or 130C for a fan oven and tear off a foil square a bit bigger than the casserole, making a cartouche. Put it in the pan to cover the top of the stew and trim away any excess foil. Cook it for three hours.
If the sauce starts to seem watery, you should use a slotted spoon to take out the beef and vegetables and leave them at the side. Crank up the heat for a few minutes to thicken the sauce a bit then reintroduce the vegetables and beef.
To make the celeriac mash, peel 600 grams of celeriac and cut it up into cubes. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan, add the celeriac and fry it for five minutes until it goes golden. Season it with plenty of salt and pepper.
One or two sprigs each of rosemary and thyme should go in next with two bay leaves and four cardamom pods. Pour 200ml water in, nearly covering the celeriac, before brining down the heat to low, partially covering the pan and simmering it for between 25 and 30 minutes.
The celeriac should end up soft with most of the water evaporated. Any remaining water should be drained and the herb sprigs, bay leaves and cardamom pods removed. Use a potato masher to gently crush the celeriac and finish it off with plenty of olive oil and seasoning.
You can then serve the beef bourgiugnon up in bowls, topping it off with the celeriac mash. If you want to make it look even more appealing, garnish it with a bay leaf.