Bangin' Boeuf Bourguignon

A few months ago, my boyfriend went away with work for a month. For his last dinner before his departure he requested beef (he was going to India) and this combined my desire to go out with a bang (no pun intended) led me to cooking what I now call my Bangin' Boeuf Bourguignon!

If you have a spare 4 hours (yes, really) and you enjoy deliciously rich, deep, meaty, warm and hearty food, I highly recommend the commitment! You won't regret it!

You'll need:

• 1kg of beef (I simply used stewing beef)
• 6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
• 400g shallots (peeled and left whole)
• 2 carrots (finely chopped)
• 1 onion  (finely chopped)
• Clove of garlic (minced)
• A load of chestnut mushrooms (I used the whole pack.. Love the shroom... cut in to quarters)
• 2tbsps tomato puree 
• 750ml red wine (I used a 2010 Rioja)
• 600ml good quality chicken stock
• Some thyme and a dried bay leaf or two
• Olive oil and salt & pepper

I also served mine with fresh tiger bread, asparagus and mange tout and dauphinoise potatoes, recipe here.

First up, pop all of your beef in a bit of the wine in a bowl like so:

I only marinaded mine for about 45 minutes, but if you have longer it will keep nicely in the fridge for a few hours. When you're ready to get going, preheat your oven to about 160C... Nice 'n' Low!

Using a nice big casserole dish/pan, brown all of the beef in a little olive oil... the meat will release its own juices so not too much oil here please! Remove the meat and pop on a to some kitchen paper to rest.

Next, fry the bacon, garlic and all of the veg (shallots, onions, carrots and shrooms). It will take several minutes, sweat the onions and the rest will soften too.

Next pop the thyme and bay leaves in, followed by the tomato puree and then the wine. Whack the heat up and boil hard to burn off the alcohol and reduce a little. At this stage, pour in the 600ml of stock and put the meat back in too. The concoction should be boiling away nicely by this point.

After a few minutes, season with salt & pepper... You should taste the sauce, if it needs a little something extra don't be afraid to steer away from the set recipe.

Pop a lid on it and tuck it away in to the oven for 3 hours. During these 3 hours, you can get to grips with the aforementioned dauphinoise potatoes recipe.

After those longgggg 3 hours, remove your pride and joy from the oven. Remove the thyme and bay leaves (if you can find them) and pop it back on the hob to reduce a little more if need be... You want something quite thick.

Serve with fresh veg of your choice, bread for soaking up the amazing sauce and another bottle of whichever wine you used previously.

Yum!