We home school our son and have been doing so since covid hit. We've found a great online school with a much better curriculum than he gets locally. We're fortunate enough that my wife can stay home and help him along with his school work. Anyways, part of his French language course, he was required to pick a French dish and make it. Tonight he choose Beef Bourguignon which is a favorite for everyone in the house. I only have a few limited pictures.
We use Greta and Janet Podleski's Stew-Pendous Beef Stew with a few small changes (we upped the Herbs de Provence, dropped the small sweet potato and added a second russet. Oh, we also added bacon). We prefer to cook this in an instapot since it cuts the time to 21 minutes.
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Ingredients
2 pounds (908g) stewing beef (cut into 1 to 1½ inch cube 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2.5 teaspoons herbs de Provence
2 1/2 cups (.60 L) reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large thin-skinned potato (such as Yukon Gold), unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 large carrot, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 strips bacon
Directions
1. Pat beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle beef lightly all over with seasoned salt. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pot (preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat. Add half the beef cubes and cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are lightly browned. Remove from pot and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and beef cubes. Set browned beef aside.
2. Add onions, celery, and garlic to same pot (you may add a bit more olive oil or ¼ cup beef broth to pot if necessary to prevent sticking). Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Return beef cubes to pot and stir in herbs de Provence. Add beef broth, tomato paste, vinegar, bay leaves, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, 15 minutes. (Make sure it is a low simmer and that mixture is not boiling or it will burn.)
3. Stir in white potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer for 25 more minutes. Stir in sweet potatoes and simmer for 20 to 25 more minutes, until vegetables are tender. Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp water until smooth. Add to stew. Mix well and continue to cook until stew is bubbly and has thickened. Stir in peas and parsley and cook just until peas are heated through, about 2 minutes.
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I wish I had pictures of my son cutting the onion up. At first he said it wasn't bad, but by the second half his eyes were burning and watering like crazy. I took pity on him and finished it up.
Dropped the prepped veg into the instapot as it's cut.
Once his eyes cleared up he finished the rest of the prep by chopping up some homemade bacon ends.
After frying the bacon to get some of the fat out of it, brown your beef in the bacon fat. He wasn't too happy about the fat splattering about and getting him on the forearm, but he's getting great color on these and a wonderful fond on the bottom of the pan. These get thrown into the pot as when they're finished.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the onions, carrots and celery in the pan helping to deglaze it with a touch of water. Once all that is done it's put into the pot and cooked. It was a touch on the watery side, but it turned out great for his first attempt.
We use Greta and Janet Podleski's Stew-Pendous Beef Stew with a few small changes (we upped the Herbs de Provence, dropped the small sweet potato and added a second russet. Oh, we also added bacon). We prefer to cook this in an instapot since it cuts the time to 21 minutes.
-----------------------------------
Ingredients
2 pounds (908g) stewing beef (cut into 1 to 1½ inch cube 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2.5 teaspoons herbs de Provence
2 1/2 cups (.60 L) reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large thin-skinned potato (such as Yukon Gold), unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 large carrot, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 strips bacon
Directions
1. Pat beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle beef lightly all over with seasoned salt. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pot (preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat. Add half the beef cubes and cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are lightly browned. Remove from pot and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and beef cubes. Set browned beef aside.
2. Add onions, celery, and garlic to same pot (you may add a bit more olive oil or ¼ cup beef broth to pot if necessary to prevent sticking). Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Return beef cubes to pot and stir in herbs de Provence. Add beef broth, tomato paste, vinegar, bay leaves, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, 15 minutes. (Make sure it is a low simmer and that mixture is not boiling or it will burn.)
3. Stir in white potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer for 25 more minutes. Stir in sweet potatoes and simmer for 20 to 25 more minutes, until vegetables are tender. Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp water until smooth. Add to stew. Mix well and continue to cook until stew is bubbly and has thickened. Stir in peas and parsley and cook just until peas are heated through, about 2 minutes.
----------------------
I wish I had pictures of my son cutting the onion up. At first he said it wasn't bad, but by the second half his eyes were burning and watering like crazy. I took pity on him and finished it up.
Dropped the prepped veg into the instapot as it's cut.
Once his eyes cleared up he finished the rest of the prep by chopping up some homemade bacon ends.
After frying the bacon to get some of the fat out of it, brown your beef in the bacon fat. He wasn't too happy about the fat splattering about and getting him on the forearm, but he's getting great color on these and a wonderful fond on the bottom of the pan. These get thrown into the pot as when they're finished.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the onions, carrots and celery in the pan helping to deglaze it with a touch of water. Once all that is done it's put into the pot and cooked. It was a touch on the watery side, but it turned out great for his first attempt.
