Boeuf Bourguignon

Name: Boeuf Bourguignon
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 pound stewing beef (chopped bite size); flour (for dusting); 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 3 onions (peeled and roughly chopped); 2 cups red wine ((your favorite bottle)); 6 carrots (peeled and chopped bite size); 2 cups beef broth or water; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; handful flat leaf parsley (roughly chopped); salt and pepper ( to taste)

Boeuf bourguignon was one of the first recipes I posted when I started my blog back in 2010. It’s a dish I’ve been eating since I was a little girl back in Quebec. Often my aunts would come and spend a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen with my mother, teaching her classic French recipes. I remember these moments vividly because I would watch the steam rise from the stove pots, hoping that one day, I too could cook like that. The smells made it hard to resist – ‘patience’ my mother would say, but I have a tendency to go deaf when surrounded by food. My stomach usually takes over and does the talking. Plus, a 6 year old doesn’t know that flavors take time to develop. Impatient, I made my way back to the kitchen every 10 minutes asking if it was time to eat yet. ‘Here, eat this carrot’ said my mother as she handed me a stick. ‘Okay, so she won this round but I’ll be back in a few minutes demanding access to some real food!’, I thought as I returned to the living room.

chopped carrots — You’ll need a pound of carrots (about 6 carrots) roughly chopped.

There was always a lot of chatter and laughter coming from our kitchen. These Sundays sharing recipes were a lot more than just about food: it formed a bond between them that kept our family close.

Mom and I on vacation shopping in Shanghai.

My mother moved back to Japan in 1996, taking with her the recipe card box she had used throughout her 25 years in Canada. French and Italian recipes mostly, along with some old American classics like ambrosia. She rarely cooks these days but whenever I come visit, she always asks me to make boeuf bourguignon. My recipe is different than hers but the basic flavors I tried to achieve come from her version. It was a trial and error of dry vs soupy, bland vs too salty, that eventually found grace and balance. This is the updated version of my first boeuf bourguignon recipe.

red wine and herbs — Two cups of your favorite red wine and some bay leaves.

A classic boeuf bourguignon has a higher ratio of beef vs carrots but I prefer it equally half and half.

cooked meat — Bite size chopped beef dusted with flour and cooked until golden brown.

Suggestions for a classy French dinner at home:

Start dinner with a braised frisee salad, follow with boeuf bourguignon and finish with a fruit sorbet. If you live near a bakery, a chocolate eclair or milles-feuilles are famous French desserts. Bon appetit!