Gary Rhodes Beef Bourguignon Food

BEEF BOURGUIGNON COTTAGE PIE

Steps:

• (Up to a month ahead) heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the bacon lardons over a high heat for several mins until well coloured. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and set aside. Season the beef, then fry in the fat left in the pan. Once coloured, add all the remaining ingredients for the beef, except the cornfl our and bacon, and bring to a simmer. Partly cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook for a further 2-2½ hrs or until the beef is tender.
• Once cooked, tip everything into a colander set over another pan so you can catch the sauce. Tip the contents of the colander into a large pie dish, about 28cm x 23cm x 5cm. Re-boil the sauce and check for seasoning. Thicken with the loosened cornfl our, adding a little at a time and stirring until you have the desired coating consistency. Spoon enough sauce over the beef to barely cover and loosen it, then stir. Remaining sauce can be frozen, ready to re-heat and offer separately on the day.
• While the beef is cooling, make the mash. Boil the potatoes until tender, 15-20 mins, depending on size. Drain off the water and replace the lid. Shake the pan to break up the boiled potatoes. Add butter and milk a little at a time while mashing. Season.
• Spoon and spread the mashed potatoes on top of the cooled beef. Once covered, the mash can be marked with a spoon, palette knife or fork for a more interesting fi nish (see Gary's tip, left). When cold, the cottage pie is ready to cover and freeze.
• The day before serving, transfer the pie to the fridge to defrost overnight. (Or reheat from frozen on the day, see below.)
• On the day, reheat the pie. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. If thawed, bake for 50 mins-1 hr, or until heated through, then increase heat to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 for the fi nal 10 mins for a golden brown topping. If cooking from frozen, cover with foil, then bake for 1¼ hrs; remove foil and bake uncovered for 1¼ hrs more, then increase heat as above for the last 10 mins.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
• Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.
• Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.
• Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
• To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

PERFECT BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Cut the braising steak into chunky pieces, each around 4-5cm/1½-2in. Trim off any really hard fat or sinew. Season the beef really well with salt and pepper.
• Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the beef in three batches over a medium-high heat until nicely browned on all sides, turning every now and then and adding more oil if necessary. As soon as the beef is browned, transfer to a large flameproof casserole. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3.
• Pour a little more oil into the pan in which the beef was browned and fry the bacon for 2-3 minutes, or until the fat crisps and browns. Scatter the bacon over the meat. Add a touch more oil to the frying pan and fry the chopped onion over a low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring often until softened. Stir the garlic into the pan and cook for 1 minute more.
• Add the onion and garlic to the pan with the meat and pour over the wine. Stir in the tomato purée and 150ml/5fl oz water. Crumble over the stock cube, add the herbs and bring to a simmer. Stir well, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1½ -1¾ hours, or until the beef is almost completely tender.
• While the beef is cooking, peel the button onions. Put the onions in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to stand for five minutes and then drain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, trim off the root close to the end so they don't fall apart and peel off the skin.
• A few minutes before the beef is ready, melt half of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan with a touch of oil and fry the onions over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides. Tip into a bowl. Add the remaining butter and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes over a fairly high heat until golden brown, turning often.
• Mix the cornflour with the water in a small bowl until smooth.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the cornflour mixture, followed by the onions and mushrooms. Return to the oven and cook for 45 minutes more, or until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce is thick. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon - if it remains fairly thin, simply add a little more cornflour, blended with a little cold water and simmer for a couple of minutes on the hob.
• To serve, remove the thyme stalks. Sprinkle the casserole with parsley and serve.

SIRLOIN BEEF BURGUNDY: BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Heat a large deep skillet with a heavy bottom and a lid over medium-high heat. Add bacon to the pan and brown. Remove crisp bacon bits with slotted spoon. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons butter to the pan and melt into bacon drippings. Add mushrooms to the pan and turn to coat evenly with butter and bacon drippings. Season the mushroom slices with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes and add onions to the pan. Continue cooking onions and mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes longer, then transfer to a plate and return pan to the heat. Add remaining butter to the pan and melt it, then add meat to very hot pan and brown evenly on all sides, keeping the meat moving. Add flour to browned meat in the pan and cook the flour 2 minutes. Add wine to the pan slowly while stirring. When the wine comes up to a bubble and you have scraped up the pan drippings, add the stock and bouquet of fresh sage and thyme sprigs to the pot. Cover the pan. When the liquid boils, reduce heat to medium. Cook covered 5 minutes, remove lid and add mushrooms, onions and bacon back to the pot. Simmer with the cover off until sauce thickens a bit. Adjust seasoning and remove herb bouquet.
• Toss hot egg noodles with butter and herbs. Place a bed of noodles in a shallow bowl and pour beef burgundy over the noodles and serve.

CREAMED PARSNIPS

Steps:

• Squeeze lemon juice over parsnips, ensuring all pieces are covered.
• Melt butter in a saucepan and add parsnips once it begins to foam. Stir to coat and then add water.
• Cook on low heat for 15 minutes until tender and broken down.
• Slowly bring the double cream to a gentle boil.
• Place the parsnips and cream in a blender, season with salt and pepper, and puree until smooth. They can also be pressed through a sieve after being pureed to ensure a smoother finish.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
• In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid, cook lardons over medium-low heat until fat is rendered and lardons are browned and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve fat in pot.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Raise heat under pot to medium-high and cook until fat is starting to smoke. Lay half the beef cubes in a single layer in the pot, leaving space between pieces. Cook until well browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer pieces to a plate as they brown. Repeat with remaining beef.
• Reduce heat, if necessary, to prevent burning. Stir in onion, carrot and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in garlic and tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute, then add wine, bay leaf and thyme, scraping up brown bits at bottom of pot. Add browned beef and half the cooked lardons back to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Let cook until beef is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours, turning meat halfway through.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over high heat, combine pearl onions, mushrooms, 1/4 cup water, the olive oil and a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to medium, cooking for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to high, and cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are well browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• To serve, scatter onions and mushrooms and remaining cooked lardons over stew, then top with parsley.

CHERRY TOMATO SOUP (GARY RHODES)

Steps:

• Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan.
• Add the red onions to the pan over medium heat until the start to colour and become softened; about 3-4 minutes.
• When the onions begin to soften add the garlic and slowly cook both together until softened about a minute or so. (The garlic is added second to prevent it from burning and tasting bitter.).
• Add the red wine vinegar to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook until only a bit of liquid is left. (Be careful not to reduce too much or it will give your soup a soury taste.).
• Add the cherry tomato halves to the pan and fry for 10 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally so they don't burn.
• Stir in the passata (see note in description of recipe above) and vegetable stock to the tomato mixture, bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes more.
• Taste the broth then sprinkle sea salt and pepper over soup to your taste.
• Serving: you can serve with torn fresh basil leaves over top.

CREAMED CABBAGE AND BACON

Steps:

• Cut the cabbage into quarters; core it and shred it finely. Thinly slice the bacon.
• Melt the butter in a saute pan and fry the bacon until crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and drain.
• Melt a knob of butter in the pan and add the onion. Wen it begins to brown, add the water and then add the cabbage. Season with white pepper and a little salt.
• Keep stirring for 1-2 minutes on high heat. Add the bacon.
• When the cabbage is tender, add the cream. Stir and simmer until the cream thickens. Serve.

BAKED PORK AND APPLE MEATBALLS (GARY RHODES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Cut apples into 1/2" pieces and set aside.
• Melt butter in frying pan and cook onions gently for a few minutes until transparent.
• Add nutmeg and cinnamon to the onions and cook for a minute or so.
• Remove from heat and add sage; set aside to cool.
• Add the apple pieces, egg and ground pork to the onion mixture once it has cooled; season with salt and pepper and mix well.
• Roll mixture into 12 meatballs.
• In a clean frying pan, brown the meatballs in 1 tablespoon of butter making sure to turn carefully so they do not break apart.
• Put the browned meatballs into an ovenproof casserole dish.
• Pour the white wine into a saucepan and boil until it reduces down to about 1/2.
• Stir in the chicken stock; pour liquid over meatballs.
• Place in the oven uncovered for 45 minutes.
• Remove meatballs carefully from casserole dish and keep warm.
• Skim any fat off of the juices left in the pan.
• Optional: Use the cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a bit of cold water and whisk into the juices for a thicker sauce.
• Serve meatballs with the sauce drizzled over top.