Mary Berry - Beef Bourguignon recipe

Mary Berry is cooking up a special Smooth Radio Starlight Supper menu and here she's shared her recipe so you can do the same.

All money raised will go to Macmillan Cancer Support. We hope you, too, will be inspired to hold a fund-raising dinner party.

Mary is one of the most respected cookery writers in the country, well-known for her baking skills and Aga cookery.

Her style of cookery is family-focussed and uses fresh ingredients, her recipes are accessible to all.

Serve up a Smooth Radio Starlight Supper to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support

Beef Bourguignon

This is a real classic French casserole that is wonderfully rich. I always reduce the wine before adding it to the casserole as it greatly improves the flavour and colour. To prepare ahead it can be made 2 days ahead, adding the mushrooms and onions when reheating in a moderate oven. Freezes well without the mushroom and onion mixture.

To cook in the Aga: Bring to the boil on the boiling plate, cover and transfer to the simmeringoven for about 2 hours. Add the fried mushrooms and onions and cook for a further hour in the simmering oven or until completely tender.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

900g (2 lb) good stewing steak

175g (6 oz) smoked streaky bacon

1 large onion, thickly sliced

2 fat cloves garlic, crushed

450ml (16 fl oz) red wine

40g (1½ oz) flour

4 tbsp brandy

600ml (1 pint) beef stock

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

175g (6 oz) chestnut mushrooms

a knob of butter

12 small raw pickling onions

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3.

2. Place the oil in a flameproof casserole over a high heat.

3. Dice the beef, add to the pan and brown on all sides (you will need to do this in batches).

Transfer the meat to a plate.

4. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to the pan with the onion
and garlic and fry until the bacon is starting to brown.

5. In a separate wide-based pan, pour in the wine and boil to reduce by half.

6. Sprinkle the flour over the onion, bacon and garlic mixture and
then pour over the reduced wine, the brandy and half the stock. Stir until combined and thickened, and bring to the boil.

7. Add the remaining stock, return the meat to the pan, season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the preheated oven for about 1½–2 hours.

8. When the cooking time is almost up, cut the mushrooms in half and fry over a medium heat in another pan with a knob of butter for about 2 minutes.

9. Peel the pickling onions and add them to the pan, tossing together.

10. Add the mushrooms and onions to the casserole and then continue to cook for a further 40 minutes, or until the meat is completely tender.

11. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot from the oven.

Please find more recipes in Mary’s new book ‘Family Sunday Lunches’.

Serve up a Smooth Radio Starlight Supper to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support

Members Comments

• Comment by: vanessa02 03 February 2012 - 04:05

  Good day to you madam.. I am a single mom and work as a supervisor in <a href="http://www.dfna.info/">car battery isolator</a> company.. I really find all your recipe very easy and at the same time delicious.. I love cooking your recipe Beef Bourguignon for my kids enjoy and really love it.. Thanks to you.. More power and God bless..:-)

  Report this comment

Add a Comment

Please log in to post a comment.