Waiter, there's something in ... Anthony Bourdain's Boeuf Bourguignon

Making boeuf bourgoignon was one of my ten foodie resolutions for 2007. My dear Swedish friend Annika served a version of that French classic at a dinner party in Edinburgh early last year, and I decided then and there that I want to learn how to make it myself. So when Johanna, Jeanne and Andrew announced their new food blogging event, Waiter, there's something in my..., deciding that the first round is focusing on STEW, I knew this was the perfect moment to cross off one of the items on my to-do list.

And so I cooked a batch of boeuf bourgoignon, using a recipe from Anthony Bourdain himself. When searching through my cookbooks, food magazines and eGullet archives, I came across innumerable recipes, one more complicated than the other. Eventually I decided to go with a simple, and allegedly the authentic version of this über-French stew. That means no bacon and no mushrooms, though feel free to add those, if you're so inclined..

It's a pretty straightforward dish (unless you opt for Thomas Keller's version*, of course) - chop, fry, simmer, let cool, reheat and eat. Keep in mind that boeuf bourguignon, like many other stews, is considerably better on a day after, when the flavours have had ample time to mingle and develop. So if you want to serve this for appreciative guests, do some planning ahead and start the night before.

I didn't change much of the recipe, though I did simmer mine in the oven and almost doubled the amount of red wine. Please refer to the original recipe for the ingredients and process.

Anthony Bourdain's Boeuf Bourguignon, my wayAdapted from Washington Post 22 December 2004*
Serves 6



1 kg of beef shoulder or neck, cut into 4 cm pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 small onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp plain flour
500 ml red Burgundy wine
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic
1 bouquet garni [a tied bundle of herbs, usually thyme, bay and parsley]

A little chopped flat-leaf parsley

Day One: cut the beef into chunks and season with salt and pepper.
On a heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat some oil on a high heat, then fry the meat in batches until dark golden brown all over. When browned, put into a casserole dish (see the picture on the right).
When you're done with the meat, then reduce the heat and fry the onions gently on the same pan until softened (about 10 minutes). Add them to the casserole, too.
Sprinkle the flour on the frying pan, stir to catch all the juicy meaty bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the red wine, stirring, and bring to the boil. Pour over the meat in the casserole dish.
Add the carrots, garlic and bouquet garni.
Pour enough water into the pot, so it covers the meat by few centimetres (you want about 3 parts liquid to 2 parts meat).
Cover, put into a 200C oven and simmer for about 2.5 hours. The meat should be more or less done by that time.
Take out of the oven, cool and and put the pot into a cool garage/larder/fridge overnight.

Day Two: about half an hour before you're ready to serve, put back into a 200C oven to reheat and finish cooking. The dish is ready when meat is really, really tender.

Before serving, remove the bouquet garni and discard. Add plenty of chopped parsley and serve with boiled potatoes.

The Chef suggests a bottle of Côte de Nuit Villages Pommard with this, but a more humble red would do, too.

PS: That's how break-apart-with-a-fork tender meat looks like:



* The same article "Boeuf Bourguignon, by Degrees" shares Boeuf Bourguignon recipes from Ina Garten (an American chef known for her Barefoot Contessa show at Food Network) and from Thomas Keller. Keller's recipe, as also printed in his book Bouchon, lists no less than 45 ingredients (thou some, like salt and pepper, occur more than once)!!

Copycat: Dagmar's spicy meatballs

I told you there's another copycat post on the way when writing about Alanna's wonderfully fragrant carrots with African spices. Well, Dagmar posted a recipe for spicy chicken meatballs in early January that caught my eye. It must have been the use of sumac in the meat mixture (apart from the tempting photo, that is). I've had a packet of sumac for the best part of the last year, and apart from sprinkling it on top of rice every now and then I haven't really used it. Now was my chance!

Sumac, for those of you who don't know, is the dried and crushed fruit of the sumac tree (Rhus coriaria L.) that grows wild in Sicily, Western Asia, and parts of Arabia and Central Asia. The dried fruit have a beautiful dark red colour, and taste slightly sweet and sour. Sumac is widely used in Turkish and Iranian cuisine, where it is used to season rice, meat dishes, döner kebabs, and salads. It's always added at the end of cooking process, as heating sumac dulls the flavour. In addition to being used as a seasoning, the red sumac flakes also make a beautiful garnish. It's also an essential ingredient in the za'tar spice mixture popular in Jordan. Think of it as dried lemon juice - you add just a generous squeeze (sorry, a sprinkle) to enliven the dish.

You can read more about sumac here (Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages).

Anyway - back to Dagmar's spicy meatballs. I've added some breadcrumbs to the mixture, as there's a man with a very big appetite in the house and this makes the meatballs go further without really compromising the taste. I've also enlarged the quantities a little to suit the local shopping habits (minced meat is sold in 500 gram packets). Dagmar used chicken mince, but as poultry mince is not really available here and chicken fillets are expensive (for mincing purposes), I used the more economical minced lean beef (first time) and minced beef & pork (when K. requested these again few days later). The recipe worked really well both times. The mixture of spices is wonderful - the warmth of coriander and cumin, the kick of Cayenne and the sharpness of sumac complement each other brilliantly.

When I made Estonian cabbage rolls the other day (seasonings: salt, pepper, a bit of dill), K. asked if I could spice them up a' la these meatballs:) Do try them, they're good!

Dagmar's spicy meatballs, my way
(Vürtsikad hakklihapallid)
Serves 4



500 grams mince (lean steak mince or a mixture of pork & beef)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 egg
5 Tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tsp dried ground sumac
1 tsp cumin seeds, finely crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, finely crushed
1 tsp ground Cayenne pepper
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

oil for frying

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Shape into 12 large 'sausages' or smaller patties (best done with slightly wet or oily hands to avoid sticking).
Shallow-fry in oil for 10 minutes, turning, until the meatballs are browned all over.
Serve with rice and feta-cucumber 'salad' (above) or with Alanna's wonderful carrots (below).

Work in progress: Tarte Tatin

No recipe, just a picture. Here's a Tarte Tatin I made in November during my apple-cake baking frenzy, using a recipe from Joanna Harris' book The French Kitchen. It was delicious, with wonderfully caramelised apples, and a melt-in-your-mouth crumbly shortcrust pastry. We finished it within 12 hours (the first few slices after dinner, the last crumbs for breakfast next morning). And that's just between two of us..



Yet K. insists the apple/crust ratio is wrong - he wants way more apples and a lot less pastry. Hence I'm looking for an even better recipe with more apples and less dough.

I'm thinking of trying Molly's good-looking one, especially as I've got a good bottle of Tokaji waiting to be consumed, and Molly claims it's a pairing made in heaven. However, I think I'd prefer one using shortcrust pastry instead of puff pastry.. Maybe I should attempt Clotilde's tarte tatin with salted butter caramel? What about this one from Epicurious using sour cream pastry?

Any other suggestions?