Beef Bourgignon

The night before, clean the meat, dice in medium size cubes, season the meat with salt and pepper, place in a large bowl with the bouquet garni and the wine let it marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Pat meat dry or it won't brown well. Season all over with salt and pepper. Reserve the wine and the bouquet garni for later.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish over high heat. Cook beef, in batches, (Too much meat in the pan at once will mean it takes longer to brown). for 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Reserve.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter until bubbling in, add the lardons and fry for one to two minutes or until golden brown, then tip in the shallots and onion and fry for a further two to three minutes or until browned. Add the wine to the casserole and deglaze over medium-high heat, scraping up the bits. Return the cooked beef to the casserole, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour and mix well with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes, add the bouquet garni and the carrots. Cover and place in oven. Bake until meat is very tender, 2 - 2 ½ hours.

Heat remaining butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, take out the bouquet garni and the carrots, cut them into pieces and pour in the mushrooms and the carrots back into the beef.

Serve with boiled potatoes, white steamed rice or fresh fettuccine al dente.

Happy cooking!