Like Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon – Rachel’s Beef Stew

Written by Rachel, Posted in Beef, Braising, Dairy-Free, Dinner, Herbs, Main Dishes, Meat, One Dish Dinners, Potatoes, Soups, Vegetables

For Mother’s Day, in 2010, we spent the day with Tim’s parents. His mom loves Meryl Streep (who doesn’t!), so we brought the movie Julie and Julia, in case we wanted to watch it. I thought it would be fun to make Boeuf Bourguignon to eat while watching it. But, the recipe was a little intense for a Sunday afternoon. So I made my own version, which turned out to be a Beef Stew (sorry, I can’t think of a fancy word for it).

Happy Eating!

Rachel’s Beef Stew

Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 30 mins

Serves: 4-6 (depending on how hungry you are)

Ingredients

1½ lbs stewing beef, patted dry
2T flour
2T olive oil
6 red spring onions, chopped
1C carrots, chopped
1 C cauliflower, chopped
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 LB mushrooms, sliced
to taste, salt
to taste, fresh ground pepper
pinch nutmeg
1 t fresh rosemary, chopped
½ bottle red wine
6-8 C beef stock
2-4 C water
1T aged balsamic vinegar
3 potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 T flour and ¼ C water (opt. if it needs more thickening)

Instructions

Heat a soup pot over medium heat; add oil; add beef; sprinkle with 1T flour; brown. (Can do in batches so the pan isn’t overcrowded – use 1T per batch.)
Add onion, carrot, and cauliflower; about 3 minutes (or until onion is getting soft and translucent). Add garlic and mushrooms; about 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and rosemary.
Add wine; de-glaze the pan by scraping the good bits off the bottom (a result of browning the meat). Cook a few minutes, then add the stock, water, balsamic vinegar and potatoes. Bring to a boil; keep boiling until potatoes are tender (15 min or less); turn heat down to low.
Simmer 2 hours. If it doesn’t get thick enough, add flour and water mixture (whisk 2T flour with ¼ C cold water, then pour into soup).
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Notes

I read that it’s best, in the first step, to dry the meat so it browns properly. I didn’t do this, and the beef didn’t get that nice brown crust on it, it just cooked, but still tasted amazing.