Boeuf Bourgignon

It's February and it's as dark when you get up in the morning as when you leave the office to go home. There are few things to celebrate at this time of year but stews are one of them. Wherever you go in the world, if there is a winter season there will be a regional stew. Whether it is Lancashire Hotpot, Irish Beef Stew or as in this case, Boeuf Bourgignon the approach is broadly the same. Browned stewing beef, onions, mushrooms, a stock of some kind and a long long time in the oven.

I have been told whilst on holiday in Burgundy that it cannot be "BB" unless it includes Charolais Beef, Burgundy wine, local mushrooms and is left on shelf for a couple of days after cooking to improve. The 3-4 hour cooking time is as delayed as my gratification gets. Red wine and butter (remember you are not in the Mediterranean yet) are the key markers for this dish as far as I am concerned but there are many variations .

Serves 4-6

1 kg stewing steak cubed (the butcher can do this for you)
50g butter
1 medium onion, sliced
2 heaped tablespoon plain flour
375 ml full bodied red wine
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Chopped streaky bacon
4 oz (110 g) portobello mushrooms, sliced
salt and black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 140°C, shake the meat in a plastic sandwich bag with the flour to coat it thoroughly. Then brown the beef in your cooking pot in batches to make sure the meat doesn't stew in its own liquid. Keep the meat warm in a separate dish whilst you gently fry the onions, bacon, garlic and then add herbs to your pot. Add the red wine, return the meat the stew, bring to a simmer and pop into the oven for a couple of hours. Then add the mushrooms and put back in the oven for an hour.

This is a staple one pot dish, freezes well and can be served with any kind of root veg for a hearty warming winter supper.